that sync' ing feelin'!

I am proud to belong to a species that holds many an enigmatic myth among the biped monkeys. The legends are not merely myths. They are true. Atleast some of them, I have experienced myself. This myth about the full moon that you are trying to investigate is one of those few experiences. The transformation into a human? Well, I have not experienced it. But why would I? Its so clumsy to walk on two feet. How do you manage it? Anyway, coming back to your question, yes it is true that we derive strength and energy, physical and spiritual, from the full moon. We literally drink it off the pool! My mamma taught me to feed off the moon when I was young. And when I grew of age, 3 months old, if you were wondering, I had to leave home as all wolf cubs do to find my own pack. Since then, I have fed on the moon myself and its really relishing, you know without all that hassle of tearing flesh from bones.

There is one thing I have noticed during this process. They say the moon is a spherical heavenly body and that it rotates about its own axis and revolves around the earth. But I always only see the same spots and marks the disc. Could it be that the moon is symmetrical? Did you ever notice it? Ever wondered? Well, ofcourse my instincts taught me more about the universe as I grew older and if you will promise to keep this a secret, I can share the knowledge with you. The truth is, the moon takes roughly the same time, around 28 days, to complete one rotation around its own axis and revolution around the earth. Then its only common sense that from any one hill on earth, we can only see one side of the moon. But ofcourse this is not the whole truth. My ancestors did not have the chance to feed off the moon every month like us. Because in their days, the rotational and revolutional period was not the same, just as the case for earth now. And the other side of the moon is really dark and would not reflect so much even on full moon nights. So they could only feed on the moon when this side of the moon faced the earth.

That made me wonder how the rotational and revolutional time periods changed over time. Our folk legends say that the Moon Maiden is helping us with food ever since man has started making his mark disturbing the ecology. It is true. Nevertheless, there is another explanation! Its the process of "synchronisation".

Long time back, moon's rotational period was less than 28 days and the revolutional period was more than 28 days. The dynamics the many body problem, you know with that thing you call as gravity being the main element, brought these two time periods closer and closer to a same number which happened to be 28 days. Its happening to earth, too. But ofcourse at an unnoticeable rate and the difference being so large, its going to take many many years. But its happening.

This synchronisation is an ubiquiteous phenomenon. Oh, ubiquiteous means universal. Its funny how we have different words with the same meaning! Anyway, many events out there in the universe happen according to laws of synchronisation. Its the way the universe works. All living and non living things must respect those laws. Indeed have you seen the fireflies on the banks of japanese streams? Oh you have not? Well, you must atleast know that fireflies glow to attract their mate. I know this because I am a wolf. I know the ways of all animals and plants, except humans, ofcourse. The weird lot! Oh and unlike in your species, in all other animals, from lions and peacocks to fireflies, its the male that is attributed with beauty. So in case of fireflies, the more beautifully it glows, more its chances of attracting a mate. So when many male fireflies gather at a place, they try to compete with each other to attract the females flying invisibly in the dark. The competition almost always reaches its pinnacle with all the fireflies flashing together in burst. See whats happened? All the fireflies without realising it synchronised their flashing.

And there is this plant, thats called "kurinji". It grows in Kerala and TamilNadu. It mass blooms once in twelve years. It happened last in 2006. Do you know why it blooms only once in 12 years? Kurinji (Strobilanthes sp.) and a number of other plant species synchronise their flowering (reproductive phase) within large local populations at a particular site. Populations at different sites may have different calendars, but the length of the cycle is almost the same within a particular species. This is one of the survival mechanisms evolved to escape complete destruction of the population by seed/flower predators and is termed `predator satiation'. Synchronisation of reproduction by large populations leads to an abundance of `prey' such that the predators are simply out-numbered. Therefore, the percentage of population destroyed by predators is significantly reduced. Jungle fowl and small mammals are the chief seed predators of Kurinji seeds. Other plant species also have adopted this.

Oh and one late night while I was taking a walk in the city, out of curiosity, I stopped by this mesmerising toy shop. There were these two pendulum clocks, small ones placed on the window sill. Since I had no particular place to go, I sat there and watched them. They were swinging exactly out of phase always. The next morning one cub from our pack had strayed in to the city and I went past this shop looking for him. The shop keeper was dusting the items and apparently because he disturbed the clocks, they were now swinging very randomly. I went back that night again and to my amazement saw that the pendulums were swinging exactly out of phase again. It might have been spooky for you. But I realised that even non living things synchronise! By the way, the cub returned home ofcourse!

Oh oh! You asked about we wolves feeding on moon and I seemed to have given you a lecture on something else. And its time I got back to my cave. But you should believ me. We do feed on the moon. How do you think we manage to eat flesh only once in 14 days? Our diet is synchronised! We feed off the flesh only on new moon nights!

-the wolf lady Saki.

An Eery Tale!

Do you know of an English mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford? Well, now you will; a little! Born on May 4, 1845, at Exeter, went to King's College, London at the age of 15 and was elected a fellow in Trinity College, Cambridge in 1868. He became a professor of mathematics and mechanics at University College, London in 1871 and in 1874, became a fellow of the Royal Society. He was not much happy with the excessive analytic tendencies of Cambridge mathematicians and along with Hermann Grassmann (about whom, I know little) invented what is now termed Geometric Algebra, a special field being Clifford Algebra named in his honour.

I suppose you are beginning to appreciate that he was a good mathematician. But my eery tale begins now. He was the first to suggest that Gravitation might be a manifestation of an underlying geometry! In Volume One of Lectures and Essays (edited by FR. Pollock and L. Stephen and published by Macmillan in 1879) in one of several references, Clifford ‘anticipates’ Einstein’s curvature of physical space in these words:
I am supposed to know that the three angles of a rectilinear triangle are
exactly two right angles. Now suppose that three points are taken in space,
distant from one another as far as the Sun is from Alpha Centauri, and the
shortest distances between these points are drawn so as to form a triangle...
Then I do not know that this sum would differ at all from two right angles;
but also I do not know that the difference would be less than ten degrees.

He died of tuberculosis on March 3, 1879. Eleven days after his death, Albert was born to Einstein and goes on to develop a geometric theory of gravitation [inspite of being known for poor performance especially in Math, in his school ;) ].

Well thats the end of the tale and I do find it eery!

That apart Clifford seems to have used his imagination in anticipating other developments that came in his future. In Volume One (pp. 237-238) he writes:

Now, whatever may turn out to be the ultimate nature of the ether and of
molecules, we know that to some extent at least they obey the same dynamic
laws, and that they act upon one another in accordance with these laws.
Until, therefore, it is absolutely disproved, it must remain the simplest and
most probable assumption that they are finally made of the same stuff – that
the material molecule is some kind of knot or coagulation of ether.

Was he suggesting some kind of string theory?

He is also known for his philosphical musings and I state here one of his quotes which I seem to identify with:

"There is no scientific discoverer, no poet, no painter, no musician, who will not tell you that he found ready made his discovery or poem or picture - that it came to him from outside, and that he did not consciously create it from within."

My poem "the Nymph" was an ecstatic experience I can never forget. After Swarnamalya gave me the idea for the theme, while I was in Classical Mechanics class, I felt transported to some strange place with invisible fairies whispering the lyrics in my ear, while I wrote down what I heard. It came to me from outside, indeed, unlike the pieces "Roses that wait!" and "Firefly Legend". This is probably why I feel so happy reading "the Nymph" even today!

Jade.

Untitled

this piece is again composed entirely by a friend Niveditha Viswanathan and is only published here by me and with out her knowledge and permission, at that. If by chance she comes across this, I hope she will forgive me for this "trespassing"!

She stands apart,among the many

Milling about in the solemn space

Of the temple,ah so sacrosanct,

A simple,solitary yellow flower

Adorns her deep black mane,

It cascades against the sun-straks

To reveal a face ever so charming

She fills her mud-pot with water

That trickles down to bathe her feet

As she walks ,like paradise personifies

In six yards of the silk saree

As she reaches the tulsi plant,

She utters a silent prayer

The droplets run doen her long fingers,

Like river waiting to meet the sea.

She royally heads back home,

Her red bindi matching her lips

And her mane dancing to herr rhythm

She steps past the intricate design

That greets her at the door,

A warm smell of holy ash,

Kumkum,ghee,oil and flowers dancing

To the holy bell tolling

Amidst her father's fingers and a rising

Aroma of caffeine clenches

her mind,and her feet run to the kitchen,

Only to find the silent marble floor

shatter the life of her dreams

Here,so far from home,in

A distant land so alien to thr mind

She sits on the sparkiling tile,

Only to miss the mud floor.

I met Niveditha during my internship in IMSc, Chennai in the summers of 2006.

untitled...

this piece, titled "untitled..." is written entirely by Deepak and is only published here by me.

The sun goes to bed,
After a day's long work,
Tired of lighting up the world.
The stones are still being hurled,
"Oh! wise man up the mountain,
Yes you, you with the halo,
Tell me, is it dark age or ice age?"
Oh dear, come with me,
I'll show you the way to America,
But the moles like it,
They prefer darkness to light.

Lying on the eiderdown,
On this cold winter night,
I gaze up into the star studded sky
Is it dew drops on my glasses?
Or tears blurring my vision?
Am I not understood well?
"Oh please, Come out of the hell!!"
Come out of the holes, my moles,
It ain't so comfortable down there, I know,
What's left with you,
Any dying spirit or burning desire?
How am I gonna know, even you don't!!!

There's a faint glow in the distance,
Beyond the snow-capped mountains,
Its time for another sunrise,
I didn't expect Him to be back this time.

Is boredom an addiction?
Can you ever get out of it?
Is being alive a contradiction?
Can you ever understand it?
Is freedom a faraway dream?
Can you ever taste it?
There is a higher level of existence.
Can you ever perceive it?
Blindness is contagious.
Will you ever be able to 'see' it?

Are thing gonna be the same?
Is there a glimmer of hope?
Soon I will get to know, when I see
The first rays of the rising sun.

                       --Me (Deepak)

Deepak and I were classmates for four years of his B.Tech. (mine extended for another 6 months!). This is just one piece that I happen to possess in my mails. I should mention here that Mallu and Amit were my classmates, too.

a snippet to Moon!

Can you see the radiant blushing Moon,
Which made many a romantics swoon?
I could accompany them with melodic tunes
And a poem written in celtic runes.

Can you see the jealous clouds covering her,
Clouds like spotless scotish sheep's fur?
From over which the Moon still looks over
To steal a glance at her silent human admirer.

--Jade, Mallu and Deepak.