Astronomy – a subject of interest

Astronomy – a subject of interest

 **Celestial events lined up for sky enthusiasts – A news in THE HINDU news paper today ( 26.4.2013 )

This news takes my memories  43 years before , when I was a student of Astronomy Club in Vivekananda College, Mylapore.

As I was about to write a blog on the topic of  my  interest linked to the past my site “ Chander’s Memory lane “ , a above  topic or title came to my mind . This was and is an interesting subject since 1969 soon after I joined B.Sc,Mathematics , under graduate course , in SRM Vivekananda College , Mylapore.  Astronomy is a subject  taught to us  as a part of major subject and in examination, we have to write a separate paper for this subject. As a science student I am deeply interested in Astronomy and I was a student member of Astronomy Club of our college.

In weekends we go to the terrace of our Math dept. by twilight , where a large Reflecting Telescope was installed to observe the celestial objects.



Pirate's Telescope



I have seen the planet Mars ,  Jupitor and its few moons, Saturn’s ring , Moon at the closest range  with the craters  so close to our eyes , and the different  planets  of Zodiac signs. It was  also a great experience to  see the starry night sky from our Mylapore home terrace  after midnight. Falling star is a daily phenomenon and watching it was linked with a myth !

In our scouting days also we do star watch and  plot the  night sky with zodiac signs.



Moon



Moon's craters

Saturn's ring



Jupitor through the lens of an ordinary telescope



**”The coming one month will be marked by interesting celestial events, starting with a lunar eclipse on April 25 and 26, and a daily meteor shower that will last through the month of May.

The planet Saturn will be at opposition with the Sun, and visible at its closest, biggest and brightest from the Earth on April 28. One can see the planet rising from East or South-East, after the Sun sets in the west.

At midnight, one can see it overhead while in the morning it can be spotted between West and South-West. People can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids between April 19 and May 28. Meteors have their origin in flakes of dust left by Comet Halley during its 1986 visit into the solar system.

This year, the shower will peak on May 6 at 6.30 a.m., and continue to be brightly visible in pollution-free skies up to May 12. It can be spotted up to May 28, the PSI informed.

To have a glimpse of the shower, one must look at the constellation of Aquarius above East, starting from 4.30 a.m.

These apart, the conjunction of Planet Saturn with Moon will occur on April 26, when both the celestial bodies will be visible very close to each other. This can be spotted by the naked eye.

People can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids between April 19 and May 28. Meteors have their origin in flakes of dust left by Comet Halley during its 1986 visit into the solar system.”

 In the subject of Astronomy , we used to solve mathematical problems by finding the dates of future Solar Eclipse or Lunar Eclipse. Distance between planets , speed of the celestial body and so on were topics in Astronomy. No one in our batch  miss Astronomy class, because of the interest in that subject and the practical sessions.

It was my long time wish to have a small telescope like the one we see in sea pirate movies. I found many such in the Antique Stores in Spencer Plaza and old Moore Market ( now no more Moore … “

But still today I could not own one such telescope. May be I have not tried to own or the loss of interest in getting one or lack of funds to acquire a new one costing beyond capacity.

When my son was in schooling at San Thome,  I made a SPUTNIK model  with open solar panel wings , for his school science fair and of course his model won a prize.

When Neil Armstrong put his first step on the moon in July 1969, the entire world was listening to Voice of America and I was one with great interest on the achievement of mankind , and the live talk of the first man on the moon – “"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Is an inspirational sentence for achievers.

In the same year , in  Madras , US Consulate and the American Library displayed a life size Lunar Module's model , which landed  on the Moon and allowed the visitors to go up in the ladder from one side and get down on the other. The inside is a replica of the original Lunar module with control panels. Many photographs and miniature models of the Apollo Mission were in display.  An exhibition, which I cannot forget. The feeling of  mine when I entered the Lunar Module cannot be expressed  in words.The stone pieces brought from the moon , in original were in display.

Apollo 11 Lunar Module " Eagle "

My eye sight is deteriorating with cataract and I do not know when I will have my own telescope to see the starry night’s celestial bodies!!! Let people who are interested to see the celestial bodies may try  with a telescope and do not delay to regret at later days like me !!!

World Book & Copyright Day

World Book Day & World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days) is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. In the United Kingdom, the day is instead recognized on the first Thursday in March.

World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995.

Books may also refer to works of literature, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature. In novels and sometimes other types of books (for example, biographies), a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on).
An avid reader of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, bookworm. I think I belong to that WORM community.

I wrote already in my blog about my love towards book and shared on how I was attracted towards books and how I created my own library  and the collections of mine .

Why people are attracted towards books  and what are the benefits of reading ?

For me , being an avid reader already, many times the cover of a book in display at any book stores attracts me. Then the title, the synopsis of the book in the back cover , then comes the author and last, the number of pages . I look for the price tag after my decision to buy it. Some times the price may not be affordable and skipped the idea of owning one. At last I look for the same title in e-book community forum for a quick free download . My son gave me an e-book reader and  recommended me to go for e-reading habits than covering our small home’s wall with books. Another distant daughter from Bangaluru  shared lot of e- books of my taste through mail attachment and gave some links to download freely. But as a reader for the past five decades , habits never dies, and so the hard copy  book reading never dies for me. Still I buy books and my catalog for sharing gets updated dynamically. Being a reader , my daughter in US  gifted me a sketch book to write while travelling and she feels a reader can become a writer one day and that writing live past the reader.

I do respect the copyrights of the author and never go for piracy book prints irrespective of the cheap price . They spoil the quality of the book  and the quality of book reading. Of course I know a book seller who gets imported books, one-time read and imported to India from U.S and Europe. The original one-time read and disposed books are always lovable to buy as  the good condition of books attracts bookworms’ like me.

I came across a page in FB called “Rare books Society of India”. Their services is very good for people like me, who are interested in keeping rare books in their possession and would like to share also  sometimes.

The Society says :  In spite of India being an ancient literary civilization and having one of the largest literary treasures of hand-written and printed material, we do not have a single Society for rare book collectors. This is an attempt to create a forum and bring those elusive connoisseurs to discuss and share their knowledge on Indian rare books.

Benefits of reading is a lot but to say a few I wish to give here eight different benefits.

Enhanced Smarts

In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper What Reading Does for the Mind , she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age.

Reading reduces stress

When I’m reading a book, my mind shifts gears. Where I might have a had a stressful day, a book can easily distract me.

 Greater tranquility

Reading can soothe like no other.

 Improved analytical thinking

Cunningham’s studies have found that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns quicker.

 Increased vocabulary

All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. Every day. You’ll be surprised at the words you start incorporating into your writing. It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling,

 Improved memory

Ihave been finding that I can remember stuff much easier when I have been reading consistently.

 Improved writing skills

The more you read, the better of a writer you’ll become.

 Helps prioritize goals

When you remove yourself from your work environment, you’ll start to see things that you might really want to do, that you’re not doing yet. Reading gives you a chance for your to wander.

 I wish on this World Book and I Copyright Day , to  all the book lovers , book worms , book publishers , book sellers and in particular pavement sellers who contributes many to become scholars abroad , a  VERY HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY .

Healing Power of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra

Healing Power  of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra

This is a personal realization experienced  with  our pet dog , fondly christened by my children  as FRIENDU , when it was too young and now it is almost 10 years old.

During last month , on my return from a trip to western region, I was very much worried to see our pet dog with a deep  big open wound at two places on its back.  The wound seems to be incurable and blood was  oozing always. My wife  only broke the news ,as Friendu was always outside and not staying in our house for some time.  I presume that the wound would have caused by a metal object , probably when it was sleeping under a two wheeler and suddenly came out with a  deep cut wound . We could feel the pain it suffers and no way we can go near as it was little abnormal with pain. 


Our pet Friendu with two deep cut wound on his back

We have decided to call our veterinary doctor , Dr.Subramanian , staying in next block but could not reach him over phone. At last when he got connected , We came to know that he  himself  was not well . He had a mild stroke and stays at home , not attending college. But the greatness of him is that he asked me whether I can pick him by any mode so that he can attend my dog. He is a great soul  to do service when he  himself was under  treatment.  The day I planned to call him failed as our dog was not seen around in the street in the early morning at 6 am , at which time doctor asked me to pick him. The next day I contacted him again by visiting his home and he immediately changed his dress and came in my scooter to my place. In the mean time my wife kept our pet inside the gate and doctor seen it from outside. He  tried to spray a medicine but the dog reacted very fast and he could not succeed . He gave the powder to us and try to apply if possible. The infection is so big and deep, he could not give a solution , it being a street dog and out of control .

My younger sister  was ready to spare her car but we cannot take to Veterinary College Hospital due the blood oozing wound and the  ferocious  act of it.  I dropped back our doctor and he also suggested for a spray to apply from distance due to its aggressiveness.  So  myself and my wife decided that praying for its recovery by chanting is the only solution left with us and we started praying for it daily.  I have also prayed Sri Krishna to take back to his abode, as the  recovery  seems to be out of question.

Our pet dog Friendu - wound vanished

The power of chanting proved  that prayer could heal any illness whether a human being or an animal.  The wound  got fully healed and a dry skin appeared within a week’s time though we could apply the powder very little when it was sleeping on the road.

 Lord Krishna came  in disguise  as our Veterinary Doctor and seen once the dog.  Our prayer  by  chanting at his ears proved that chanting ‘Hare Krishna’ maha mantra  could make miracles in the life of our pet animal, Friendu. Now it plays around well and stays all the day  inside our house and  takes diet correctly. 
 



A sound sleep inside our house

We thank our vet doctor for his humble and noble service rendered to our pet . He never accepts service charges from us.

Miracles can happen. But realizing one  such in our daily life is rare.  Let us chant Hare Krishna   ,not only for us but for all living beings around us. Hari Bol.

Craze for WWF show in Indian Television – 1990s

Craze for WWF show in Indian Television – 1990s

About 23 years before , when my son and my brother’s son were  five and four respectively , the  most watched top rated TV show in Indian television was WWF ( World Wrestling Federation )  for them and similar age group kids. But the beauty is ,we adults were also attracted to that show and curiously watching the wrestling , though it looks like an act of real wrestling. The  big sound noise when they fell on the floor is very  much deceiving .

The super stars of the wrestling match are well known to the kids who were very crazy to watch, write down their records , buying lot of picture cards with their vital statistics , no. of matches played , won and lost and many other details printed. The kids used to play games with the picture cards by remembering the ststistics well of all the super stars.

Even my dad and myself sometimes watch the  WWF TV show  by sitting at the edge of the chair and wait to see  who will be the winner! The names of few top wrestlers and photos I give here for the viewing pleasure of people of all ages who loved WWF once and even today. My brother-in-law ( elder sister’s husband ) also likes to  watch WWF show .

The tough face of the Chairman & Chief Executive of WWE , Mr.McMohan is an added attraction in the show and his daughter also later joined him.

The 1990s was a decade of huge transition in WWF  history. The fans witnessed the end of The Golden Era followed by many highs and lows and the emergence of the new generation.

A lot of historical and unforgettable events were staged for the fans. To have so many memories engraved in our heads, even after 10, 15 or 20 years, means legendary moments and astonishing spectacles given by the artists of the ring. These are the greatest stars of the '90s and they're about to see passing before your eyes.

Even today the show goes on I believe and my  grown up kid  who got married  last year and my brother’s son  could recall those good old days of watching the big show and the card games they  used to play  , with friends and with me also .  All others of their age group and may be elders too  could recall those happy days and cherish.

The Name Of The Game ???

The Name  Of The Game ???

I am recalling a game without a name , we played in our school days in and around our streets . In 1960s  Mylapore , a  place in South Madras , was not thickly populated and there were no heavy  traffic of automobiles.  Cycle rickshaws and hand pulled rickshaws was a common sight other than cyclists going here and there.  Automobile ply in main streets mostly. So the small  streets and by lanes  were free for children to play around. We have played rubber ball cricket , learnt scooter ride even when we were adolescent .

 

A particular sport we played , I wish to narrate here. It may look funny and  the reader may wonder whether  we played such games without a name ! The photo attached below  is self explanatory about the game .  Yes. Rolling of a spokes-less cycle rim on the streets with a steel rod  bent at one end  to slide along the rim , is the game !!!

One of my classmate nicknamed  as SB , taught us the game. He had a big  old cycle rim without spokes   may be  22” or 24” cycle ,  and start rolling from his house near Sri madhava Perumal temple and comes to our place , hardly  half a kilometer, with a big noise made by the contact of the steel rod with the rim. He used to  run it very  fast and me and my brother were very much fascinated on the game. So we also wanted one to own ourselves than asking for small rounds  from him !

Our uncle, we fondly call him Dhoppa, who took us to Moore Market  ( a market near Central Railway station, where you can get anything from a pin to big  things ) one day and bought two such rims for us. But we could get smaller size only. The steel rod also we got to match the rims. So the joy ride along with our friend on the streets gave us much enjoyment, in a period of no television and other entertainment of present days . Initially we tried to roll the rim in the terrace  our house. The turning and twisted runs with the rolling rims gave us much thrill.  We used to have race on the terrace to show our skills in how long we roll it without a break !  SB , our friend , used to join in the sport , being the innovator according to us and an expert driver !

The reader of this blog may not believe that the game owner, SB , studied with me from class one to under graduation and served a leading Nationalized Bank in high rank , now retired and working as an Acupuncture doctor  outside Madras.

Still the memory is prime for me. We could hear the starting and running sound of the rim, the sooner he leaves his house , which is behind our house parallel to our street.  Our half shorts dress helped us to run fast with the rim and SB could suddenly stop the ride with a  shriek sound.

As we did not have camera in those younger days and of course it was a costly affair, there is no photo available to share. So I took from internet , similar photos played by African kids in their villages. Mylapore was also a village in those days.

I will post a separate blog on the richness of Mylapore   later.

Can anyone give a name to the game we played ?

I could recollect a song here :

"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album.

Not a day goes without cherishing the past and the moment any pleasant things comes to my mind , immediately I put it in writing.

History Recalled – 83 years before, 12th March 1930 ... in India

History Recalled – 83 years before , 12th March 1930 ... in India

Today a close colleague of mine , Mr.Sushil  Vispute , from Ahmedabad  reminded me by a mail communication that this day , 12^th March  is the anniversary of Salt Satyagraha of Mahtma Gandhi . He knows my interest in Gandhian activities and he was the person who took me to Sabarmati Asharam , after 40 years , when I visited Ahmedabad.  I am really thankful to him on his concern and interest in keeping me posted  about the great news of  83 years old history  recalled with a national spirit. This made me to write a blog on past history , an event  of national importance that made British to  feel the strength of Satyagraha. My recent trip to Ahmedabad and visit to Sabarmati Ashram  again kindles my thought to write this.

A painting com model in Sabarmati Ashram depicting the great Dandi March led by Mahatma

The Dandi March, also mainly known as the Salt Satyagraha, began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.

Mahatma Gandhi  led the Dandi march from his base, Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad, to the sea coast near the village of Dandi. As he continued on this 24 day, 240 mile (390 km) march to produce salt without paying the tax, growing numbers of Indians joined him along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws at 6:30 am on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians.^[1] The campaign had a significant effect on changing world and British attitude towards Indian independence^[2][3] and caused large numbers of Indians to join the fight for the first time.

After making salt at Dandi, Gandhi continued southward along the coast, producing salt and addressing meetings on the way. His party planned to stage a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 25 miles south of Dandi. However, Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of May 4–5, 1930, just days before the planned action at Dharasana.

During India's independence struggle, C. Rajagopalachari, who would later become independent India's first Governor-General, launched a salt march in Vedaranyam parallel to the Dandi March launched by Gandhi in 1930 to protest against the sales tax levied on salt extraction.

C. Rajagopalachariar (Rajaji) led 100 chosen Congress volunteers to walk 150 miles in 15 days from Tiruchirapalli to Vedaranyam, then in Thanjavur District, to make salt at the seashore and defy British Government's prohibition of its manufacture without licence.

At 3.30 a.m. that day, Rajaji and his 10-member group were stealthily led in darkness through a short-cut to reach the salt marsh at Agastiampatti, two miles away from Vedaranyam. When Rajaji and others collected salt, it was already 6.00 a.m. A posse of policemen headed by a superintendent of police reached the spot and arrested Rajaji alone. In the afternoon, he was produced before the local magistrate and was sentenced to six months simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 200, or another three months in jail. Rajaji preferred additional three months. He was whisked away to Tiruchirapalli by train.

Nehru considered the Salt Satyagraha the high-water mark of his association with Gandhi, and felt that its lasting importance was in changing the attitudes of Indians.

More than thirty years later, Satyagraha and the March to Dandi exercised a strong influence on American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., and his fight for civil rights for blacks in the 1960s.

We must salute those who sacrificed their life in the freedom struggle . Long live our independence.

International Women’s Day – 8th March,2013

International Women’s Day – 8^th March,2013

I wrote many blogs to cherish the past. A person close to me  asked me “ Why not you write about your good wife , who sacrificed her entire life to your family ? ‘ . At that time , when I approached my wife on writing about her , but she told me not to do for reasons not explained. But the whole world is celebrating Women’s day on March 8^th, every year and I felt that this time I have to write on two women in my life, with excuses.

"Intellectually, mentally, and spiritually, woman is equivalent to a male and she can participate in every activity." Gandhiji.

For everyone their mother is the first woman they come to know , who shows love and affection unlimited, during their  childhood and their grandmother , who tells moral stories . Next comes their siblings, later when they become adolescent a girl friend and after marriage  their wife. And of course later many relationship and friendship  brings many women in each man’s  adult life.

My Mother : She was born in the year 1933 as a ninth child to my grandparents and got married at the age of 14 ,on August 21^st,1947 ,to my father , who was 22 at that time. Their wedding was held at  my dad’s parental home in  Mylapore. Our family was big  and she could adjust herself to work as a good housewife . The house itself was very big and maintaining it from the front entrance to the back yard measuring 80 feet X 30 feet is not an easy task. My father often goes on tours on official duty and she brought us , three children , born at the interval of two years from 1950. My sister was eldest ( a twin but lost one ) , I am the second and my brother was the last. Bringing up by putting in a good school, taking care of all our needs to the minute details of stitching school bags , new books , monitoring our education and welfare apart from taking care of other family members  ,never felt by her as a great  ot tough task. She handled all well and later gave birth to two other siblings to us  , a brother in 1966 and a sister in 1969. Of course we three grownups took care of them.

Cooking with wood and coal , hot water making in Copper boilers, using all conventional grinders were part of every household women in those days , where there was no gas stove. Later kerosene wick stove came as a substitute. Though my father bought an electric heater, it was very expensive to use and only used for hot water at times. Our backyard used to be cleaned once in a while by her and the special cooking for festivals and guests, who often visits us, enjoyed by her without any reluctance. We were a middle class group and education was costly for us. But my mother supported my father fully to ensure us a good education up to university , though we studied fully on loan. The greatness is my dad cleared all his debts after his retirement. They were very happy in framing the graduation photo of all the five of us in a single frame.

She was known as a diabetic patient in her old age  and with some heart ailment also. She stayed with me till her last and my wife did her best to my mother .After my father’s demise, she wanted to live in the same old house and later decided to sell away the property based on our request to ensure that all the five children are getting equal share and each one owns a property. 

Memory of  our mother lasts forever  and we do recall often the good things she did to us.

My Wife : She came into our family on 21^st April 1978 as a first daughter-in-law to my parents at the age of 21. She was brought up by a strict disciplined father in her from her childhood till she got married. She has two brothers and a sister. They were living in Thiruvottiyur, a place we call North Madras . As we are from South Madras, by ignorance we think  people from North Madras are not much educated and cultured.  But that is not true and we realized it once our family got connected to a family in North madras, that is my in-law’s place.

When she entered our house through an arranged marriage , as she is closely related to us from my mother’s side, she saw a different life style of ours. The freedom of  talking to parents , more friends, value for education , food habits , often presence of relatives and friends made her to think , how to adjust to the big family of , father and mother-in-law , three unmarried siblings of mine , my unmarried elderly uncle ( father’s elder brother ) . But her mental strength made her to take the challenge to live up to the satisfaction of all. She is not as enterprising as me . The complex of  being a  non-graduate , increased her aspiration to become a graduate , and waiting for an opportunity to continue education in way without disturbing the day to day affairs. I  came to her rescue and supported her  to join a correspondence course in Bachelor of Arts ,once my elder daughter goes to school . But to everyone’s surprise she finished her Post Graduation after my son was born, with the guidance of her Chitti ( mother’s sister ) . One by one my siblings got married and she was a leading lady in our family to look after my diabetic and heart patient parents. As she fully know the value of education, her aim to give a good education to my children got fulfilled. Entire need of my kids were handled by her alone and I took care only their entertainment , partly for  education guidelines. Both of them love her very much.

Slowly she could learn to go to bank, purchases and all my personal work like paying telephone bills, electricity bills, provision purchases  and so on. Though very few difference in our tastes, nothing stood before us in meeting the needs of each other.  Her dress sense  and selection for others are admired among our friends and relatives. My children used to wear whatever she picks for them even today and for me too.

When she was nearing 40 , she got the full freedom to teach in a tutorial center in the neighborhood at Mylapore. Her qualification  helped her to teach school children. After we have moved from Mylapore to Mogappair, she got an opportunity through my sister to be a teacher for physically challenged children at Guild  of Service, Annanagar.

For the past twelve years she teaches the young challenged kids and got a certificate of merit and appreciation to the service rendered from Lion’s Club. She is a good art teacher also and   her students always comes with prizes in all the competitions participated . A due recognition is there for her in the school.

She become a mother-in-law in the year 2005 , when my daughter got married and lucky to have a  very good son-in-law, who inspired us spiritually , who understood completely her sacrifice to our family and shows high regards to her always.  Again she becomes a mother-law in 2012 , when my son got married. My daughter-in- law is a best friend for her and they both share many of their likings. My daughter-in-law is another daughter for us . So now we have two sons and two daughters and all of them love my wife very much . We are leading a simple and  happy  life by the blessings of Sri Krishna  and all well wishers . I can add many more to share the happiness of having such a wonderful person in my life .

The other women I do respect  in my family and  would like to wish them a Happy  Women’s Day are --

My daughter who showed us a right spiritual path and supports her husband in US in spreading Krishna Consciousness ;

My two  courageous sisters with great will power supporting their families in all walks of life; 

My  sister-in-law( immediate brother’s wife)  in India, who is an  enterprising , most affectionate , friendly , innovative and socialite;

My sister-in-law(last brother’s wife) living abroad , who is a caring mother of two and a supporting wife , not compromising Indian culture though lives in US;

My daughter-in-law , a soft spoken, smart,  caring  the physically challenged kids , affectionate  towards all and treating us as parents.

In Modern Indian society women are playing stellar role, even challenging the males in Politics. More importantly their role in family building, society development is stupendous. Indian woman is emerging out of their conventional role, realizing their unlimited potential and have begun to take major role in all walks of life.

My share for the International Women’s day closes with this as I could not bring into this loop any other relatives and friends, but wish them whole heartedly “ A Happy Women’s Day “.