Sunday, August 4, 2013

Heisenberg’s Paradox

A German theoretical physicist known by the name of Werner Heisenberg, sometime in 1927 espoused one of the primal principles of life, the unparalleled axiom of Causality, in the sphere of sub-atomic matter. And he was finally seen walking out with the Nobel Prize for Physics, that too, within half a decade. Though it was not as easy as it seems here. You do not get awarded with a Nobel Prize for doing nothing, for that you do have Annual Awards at your workplace. 

Coming back to Heisenberg, for a lazy mind like myself, there is a prevailing inclination to think, “Why on earth or hell, do I need to know the speed or position of a particle, which I can’t even see in this or any other lifetime!” and maybe “You little quark, to hell with you.” And as for the latter, my guess is that, my boss thinks the same of me. The theory is causal both in its nature and intent. To measure the position of a particle, you have to affect its speed (you hit it with a photon and God knows what else) and thus the speed you would measure would be the post-collision one. The cause in question is locating the particle and the effect is a change in its velocity. 

                       Newton had applied this philosophy in his third law of motion and mango people like us knowingly or unknowingly apply this principle daily in our lives. Especially in Mumbai, auto-wallahs and taxi bhaiyas can be hailed as supreme masters of Newtonian physics. By applying any or all of his three laws sometimes simultaneously in any given interval of time (also called delta t), these Newtonian masters register a yet greater rate of application than their own respiration rates. Had they studied these laws a bit further upon, they would have most probably ended up in some lonely cubicle, applying the same set of laws but in a different manner with a perhaps higher degree of sophistication like silent incantations under breath, commenting and liking blogs without any legible content and sometimes even daring to dream beyond IIMs, thanks to ponytail. And in the latter case, the general populace and more importantly their kinfolk would have been mercifully spared from the Effect set, promptly replaced by their bosses and by people who do not have to sit in cubicles but have the long nose to make others sit. 

Even at-first perplexed freshers from various graduate and post-graduate streams, who chose the haven of Bollywood over lesser known cities, to catch one glimpse of a certain Bollywood diva, imbibe these laws pretty quickly. They would be seen in local trains, deftly whistling and kissing around (only flying ones, stationary ones can still land you up at the nearest police-station), which is usually taken as a semaphore for letting sub-atomic movement in a crowd. The intensity read desperation and the cadence of whistling/kissing can be directly proportional to the time by which one thinks one is late to work. Therefore at most of the workplaces, the early bird award usually goes to the person arriving at office just before noon, which otherwise cannot be shared with the office boy. Going by departments, it seems that the HR department (barring a few losers who have a quite pervasive presence across continents) follows the laws of thermodynamics rather than the laws of motion. Here the exception is the absence of any effect but a whole lot of causes. Yes it does defy many laws, but you see causes engender further causes and it goes on and on. People who are usually so busy, that it becomes difficult impossible for them to locate even themselves in their own cubicles after 5:00 pm. And they share the lion’s share of organizational work. Organizational Change and Development, Leadership Programmes and all such gingerly designed programmes take bulk of their working hours both in designing and implementation. In consonance with the zeroth law of thermodynamics, these designs remain in equilibrium with each other and also with their heads, probably later with their graves too. If one of those designs on a rare occasion tries to spout itself out, it’s made to delve into another form of energy as per the first law of thermodynamics. It’s called process improvement and it’s cost can exceed the next five years of remuneration of the entire department.

There is yet another department which closely resembles the thermodynamics department but is elementally very different. Even Erwin Schrodinger’s equation with all his partial derivatives, cannot completely explain the laws governing this one. For they are neither particles nor waves. They are admin. From your flights abroad to your flights to the loo, they cover the entire spectrum. They research on your telephone calls, coffee, conveyances and even the amount of tissues that you could have used in the loo. Given these grounds, most of them would have got a Nobel Prize for welfare economics. They manage costs, not just the checks and balances but the allocations and de-allocations too. You would probably have loved them too.

Love thy neighbour and thy colleagues even more.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Another Chilikan Sail

Coordinates              19°43′N 85°19′E
Lake type                   Brackish800px-Chilka_lake
Primary inflows           35 streams including Bhargavi, Daya, Makra, Malaguni, Nuna
Primary outflows        Old mouth-Arakhakuda, New mouth-Satapada to Bay of Bengal
Catchment area          3,560 km2
Countries                    India
(Source: Wikipedia Commons)

A scorching mid-summer morning buttressed with a subtle yet pervasively lethargic demeanour in addition to a limited extravagance of time; lost all odds to a rather willful birthday wish, setting six of us on course to a memorable visit to Chilika Lake, the brackish water lagoon along the eastern coast of Odisha. As per web sources, it is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest on the entire planet after Laguna Ojo de Liebre on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Serving as a summer resort to over a hundred and sixty species of migratory birds from plethora of faraway stretches, ranging from Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea to other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas; it subsists around one hundred fifty thousand fishermen. Also, home to around a hundred and fifty rare and endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins, a few of which, did catch our eye during their magical jump to glamour and glitz.
                                                                  The journey towards the new mouth of Lake Chilika better known by the name of Satapada, from the temple city of Bhubaneswar comprised a distance of 106 kms by road, through the holy shrine of Lord Jagannath’s birthplace i.e Puri. The road was lined with lush green outfields on either side with remarkable golden sheen of fresh paddy harvest. Embraced by high and elegant coconut palms akin to sentries standing guard, along its perimeter the path appealed majestically. We made a brief stop during the journey, to relish some freshDSC_2577 coconut milk from one of the roadside vendors who was still disappointed with the bargained sale. Seasonal flowers adorning the path throughout the curvature, emphasized the mystic elegance of a sojourn in more colourful ways than the rainbow itself. The scenic landscape kept evolving with the grazing of cows, the ablution of buffaloes in roadside canals and the solitary activities of farmers tending to their crops. It took around three hours to reach the region of Satapada, which actually signifies convergence of Chilika with the Bay of Bengal. It was once a modern human effort to improve the estuarine eco-system of the lake.

Having historically significant antecedents for being a major harbour for maritime commerce (around 209 – 170 BC), when Kharavela, the King of Kalinga was also known as the Lord of Sea. Wonder what people would have called him, had he ruled Sri Lanka. Brahmanda Purana, also mentions Chilika Lake as an important part of trade system where ships set sail to kingdoms of Java, Malaya, Singhala and China among others. The people even in the cities adjacent to Chilika Lake still observe an annual festival called Bali Yatra commemorating the symbiotic relationship of trade and commerce with neighbouring countries through nautical routes. These days, it commemorates mass appetite rather than just commerce and you can do a ‘window-gorging’ on the nearly infinite array of diverse food being sold and served on this occasion.
DSC_2605On reaching the quay in Satapada, we pre-ordered lunch for everyone in one of the restaurants and hired a family-type boat for Rs. 1800. Later, we found that the lunch would cost us even more. These family boats have a typically native wooden construct, with coarse and unfinished planks of wood, both for keeping the boat afloat and making passengers sit. A leather cushion may have been provided on the plank, so that it hurts a little less once you take your place, unless of course you have completely overwhelmed the BMI barriers. And yes, that little flimsy piece of cushion sways with the breeze. The only thing that has some machinery on the boat, is a small cantankerous diesel engine which can break all sound barriers within moments of ignition. The rotor blades are the only companions which make the boat go a wee bit faster than normal human swimming speed. And also with some persistent request, the boatmen did bequeath us with a torn and shiny tarpaulin to create a shed against the glare of the afternoon Sun.  Aesthetics of these boat might have crazy shortfalls in almost all aspects, but once you embark it, the icy breeze and the pulsating water will make you forget everything else. And believe it or not, the ride was wonderful.
                                                             The second part of the journey was on water, with brief and enjoyable halts at different places. Small islands, famous for sightings of bright red crabs, which were nowhere to be found; different speciesDSC_2730 of birds that swayed with the wind, seagulls with their usual acrobatics and Great Egrets with their unusual concentration to carry on with their eternal activity of aiming, catching and eating fishes. The Great Egret has its sole destiny centered on, standing still for hours and allowing some unfortunate fish to come within striking distance of its bill, which it will then use as a spear to kill and devour the underdog. Through the mists of the breathless wind, the boat crossed stretches of small hills, small independent settlements of fishing-folks and thousands of birds including the greedy Great Egrets. Then it advanced towards a stretch of a lake, which somehow appealed to Irrawaddy Dolphins, in particular. Only one or two of the one hundred and sixty did care to show theirDSC_2748 flat-nosed mocking face after a still water wait of around 20-25 minutes and after shutting down the cankerous engines. Then we advanced on our voyage towards the sea mouth, where the lake plunges into the Bay of Bengal. The high tides at the dusky horizon gleamed with an amazing epilogue which is quite impossible to capture with even a powerful lens. This was a conclusive part of sojourn with six weary travellers growing impatient with the available potato chips and finally disembarking the boat to hurry towards the overpriced restaurant for having the pre-ordered overpriced lunch. Hunger improved the taste and presence of close ones made it fun. A day which engendered pure fun and frivolity, made us feel content and joyous with a sense of adventure, discovery and merriment.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Elephantine Ride

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Aroused and engulfed by strange antecedents of a kind, with an even incongruous promise of a lucky adventure to my beloved, we set out for a visit to Elephanta Caves located in an island which is around 10 kms from the architectural elegance better known by the name of Gateway of India. An hours’ ride through the Arabian Sea through shrouds of white mist with the graceful sway of seagulls, within the colossal array of ships, brings us near the beginning or rather the end of eighth century.

The first caves stand atop a hill, although accessible through a steep stairway of some 1.6 kms. Picking up some exotic berries sold by the locals DSC_2417of Gharapuri village, we set out on foot for a journey upwards, post a brief toy-train ride which hardly lasted 5-7 minutes. The stairway being flocked by trinket & artefact vendors on either side, offered a rowdy shade of restlessness from the sun’s shining blaze. The monkeys however saved the grace with their usual mimics of chirpy nothings. And at the end of the stairway, a tired queue of travellers stood at the ticket counters for the final visit to the caves of our interest. Two rather expensive looking passes from the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) with an allusion to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all for rather a paltry sum of twenty rupees, got us inside the garden which beheld the caves.
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The caves had been bidding their time probably since eons, for those sculptures inside them seemed remotely man-made. The leogriff (winged lion) has a seemingly glaring stance, guarding one of the giant shiva-lingas. These caves seemed to pay homage to both the cause and effect of cosmic dissolution – Lord Shiva. The cosmic dancer in his very appearance of Nataraja performing the Tandava; the three elements of creation; maintenance and destruction encompassed by the three heads of Trimurti, the eminence of Ardhanarisvara along with various other appearances of the Lord of dissolution reinforced a mortal sense of awe and hope inside my mind. The ineffability cannot be expressed, but the restless vengeance of spirit did whelm the mountains.
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The misty breeze of the mountains apparently embalming fatigue of travellers with the vitality of spirit, making them ready for a sojourn; for there were the Canon Hills atop another set of mountains around a kilometre from the caves. The trees of the mountains seemed to keep secrets never revealed to age of men, for they radiated unearthly exuberance over the hills. The effervescent sparks of mystery shrouded in the mountains, spoke in hushed tones to the breezes of a rather enigmatic inception.
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The canon hills were a steeper climb of fifteen minutes, flocked with both picnic goers and gypsy minds. They sported two large canons with strategic placing for a 360 degree defence, built by the Portuguese to probably ward off attacks by enemy ships. We began our descent, having spend some time atop those mountains. The descent was quicker, and after ensuring a place, we embarked the ferry, for the journey back. In some time, the skies revealed the onset of dusk, with the sun setting with a majestic radiance into the sea. The waters of the sea, caressed by tranquil sun rays of dusk, flourished with the placid gusts of evening breeze.


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A journey which ensured a loving smile on the faces in the boat, amidst waters adorned by the golden radiance of dusk. A journey so resplendent, which did end in another hours time, but those flashes of radiance still beckon the very spirit, which is eternally imbibed with all knowledge and all forgetfulness.