An old paper, an old poem and an old friend

On my most recent trip back home, I found something while I was rummaging through the attic. A folded piece of paper. It was really old, and yet incredibly familiar. I unfolded it very carefully and it revealed a piece of poetry that I had composed when I was in 10th grade. That was more than a decade ago.

The paper was in tatters, fragile even, almost like parchment old beyond centuries, the writing had faded out and yet it triggered a flush of memories that I thought I had forgotten. As if it happened just yesterday. The feeling is just inexplicable. I only just finished patching it up with tape and soon I shall take it to a shop to get it laminated, but before that I'd like to put it in a form that cannot be destroyed by age. I could've rewritten it, made it better, but I want to preserve a part of me that was.

Here it goes:

Behold my heart, wherest thou going?

Shattering my dreams, leaving me in agony

Tell me , were they all phoney

My dreams that together we shall sing?

Stoppeth thy work, aye dear Sun!

Hold thy glitter, aye sweet star!

Why from me thou take her afar,

What doth I to earn thy shun!

Why art thou so , O cruel time!

Setting fire such to my bosom,

Which is still but a blossom

why? Hath I committed any crime?

For the past few days she's grown fonder

'tis her company I delight

That I find vanishing in twilight.

Building up in the hills yonder.

No song, no gift can find me solace

But if aye birds and flowers heed my request,

I shall succeed to fulfill my little quest

Of the one who hath God's grace.

So I live my wish to fondle

her; and have her embraced,

And my dreams that had been so hazed,

Thus shall drink thy love's tipple

The fruits of which I shall scythe

And God forbid may I fail, arrange a requiem

For I see twilight yonder in a dim

That would tell you my love's myth.

Stop! my life that is long thy weep!

Quothe I o heart! I want no fray

Let not love blind take thou astray

Though memories of her shall thy keep!

Alas! Away from me hath she runneth for miles;

Yet I love her and owe her no hate

But the sorrow hath pierced my bosom inchoate

Stoppeth aye heart! for thy grief is futile!

I turned this piece of paper and there are a few comments from one of my friends then. A friend who is no longer with us now, an now I realize this is a sad memory. And yet cherish it . I shall!

26th December 2008

Alright, so this has been a nightmare so far. First my flight from Phoenix international to Chicago O’ hare got postponed from its scheduled departure at 7:00 am to 12:20 pm. I had a connecting flight from Chicago to Brussels scheduled at 4:50pm. Thanks to some Christmas enthusiasm from the weather gods, I eventually landed Chicago at 4:51, just in time to miss my connection. Strike 1!!!

The good AA attendant at Gate K7,  who , with all enthusiasm, showed me my plane pulling away on the runway, told me to go speak to a rebooking agent. Five minutes later I find myself in a queue at the rebooking counter. Apparently Christmas travel had turned sour for most of the people travelling through Chicago. These 30 minutes in the line have to be one of the most excruciating minutes I’ve ever spent. Control is something I’ve never learnt properly. And when you have to control your agitation on missing an international flight and your bladder at the same time, trust me, the brain keeps sending you conflicting signals. Strike 2!!! Ultimately I got myself booked on the next flight to London ,which was 6 hours from then and , from London to Mumbai, the next day. All my excitement of going to Belgium and treating myself to some traditional Belgian chocolates gone Phutt!

But all this is not the point. It has been almost 2 years since I left India to pursue a graduate degree in the US. And since that moment I had always dreamt of flying back one day to my home, my nest, the place where I belong.  Considering this, I should be happy now, there should be a spring in my step. Yet, for the past few days all I have been, is a little depressed and I stoop when I walk. It doesn’t feel as if I am going home. Instead it feels as if I am leaving home and going somewhere else. Have I become what I dreaded the most? An NRI?

I spent the 5 hours at Chicago, with a huge Indian family , waiting for flight AA98. When I say a huge Indian family, I mean bigger than a normally big Indian family and that is saying a lot. This one had 4 generations worth of kindred.  Believe me when I say I’ve never felt my personal space this encroached upon and vice versa. They were a noisy group, with the eldest sane male member directing everyone, the other men sharing inane jokes and general observations on the US, the women of the house chatting on petty things, children playing and fighting and their moms screaming. Having led a quiet and independent life for the past 2 years, I got really annoyed with this set, just for being so loud and so crass. I had been hitting on this cute American from San Diego but they were just so damn loud! But then I realized, they were not altogether different from normal Indians. People in India are just as loud. There is no personal space and the little amount that you might find, ends where your nose ends. People keep telling you what to do, they keep fighting, they keep talking and keep sharing their lives with innocent bystanders, or as in my case, co travelers.

I hadn’t realized this earlier in my life as I had nothing to compare it with. The past two years I’ve grown used to living quietly, used to socialization based on need rather than compulsion. I am used to seeing things in order, clean streets, self service, odorless air, and I like them. And now I am afraid to go back. What if I don’t like what I see? What if I get angry when my mom nags me? What if I don’t like the people for being in my face so much? What if I start hating the place as a whole? What if I start hating my home? I want to brush this off as just a queasy feeling. I want to believe that once I land in Mumbai, everything will be alright. But no , I really am scared.

I am waiting for my flight to Mumbai at London Heathrow airport now, and it is a dismal place.It looks like westernized version of ‘ Palika Bazaar’. The airport does not have a definite order. Seating areas are scattered between shops and restaurants. There is a dingy feel to this place. To top it off,  there are Indian families sprawled everywhere, all shabby, some  sleeping on the couches, some on the floor. It reminds me of  railway stations in India. I see a lot of Indian students, most are happy while some, like me, are clueless. What’s worse! It seems the huge family from Chicago is going to fly with me to Mumbai.

 

Strike 3!!!!! Help!

 

Random musings

How fast is this universe expanding?

It should be expanding at the speed of light. Universe cannot expand faster than the speed of light, because that would mean that the particles at the theoritical edge are travelling faster than light. That cannot be possible.

It cannot be slower than light, because light is a particle wave. So where there is light there are bound to be particles.
So universe must expand at a speed that approaches that of light.

Then again who knows if light speed at the end of the universe is the same as the speed here? It could be faster or it could be slower.

These are some questions which never can be answered.... or so I believe

Its All About Sex

And after a longish sabbatical I come back to write a new blog, not that I was frequent at this before either.
America, the land of million opportunities, of playboys , casinos , strip clubs and what not, and on a more sobre note, a land of Ivy league Universities. But I wont be wasting time digressing on topics about university culture.This being my first blog after coming to America, it is natural that I talk about sex.

The Attitude:
Disclaimer: Prudes should probably stop reading beyond this point.

But what the heck , we all love to talk 'sex'. Be it in hushed tones behind curtains, or boisterously on streets. Yet no one ,the 'no one' includes lecherous indian men who ogle/stare more than an owl at night ( not that owls stare at females, only for them , to stare is to see...but you get the point), is more obsessed with sex than the friendly neighbourhood American teen. To elaborate: Every teen movie hitherto made in hollywood has a generous portion of love making invloved. I am sorry that was an understatement. What I meant was every hollywood teen flick is centered around sex! From little known 'Gossip Girl' to the more famous 'American Pie' series. I saw this new movie - Good Luck Chuck. It is an OK movie, mind you Jessica Alba is amazing, but the movie aint that good. The story is basically this: the Chuck guy, when he was 10, refused to show his penis to some gothic chick, who inturn hexed him that he will never find / keep his true love. Fast forward 20 years and this guy finds himself treated as a stepping stone to a perfect marriage. In other words, there is a myth among the 'ladies' of the city that if they slept with him once, the next guy they meet will be their soulmate. No comments on the credibility of this plot, but you see where this comes from, sex sells here.

People here are liberated , sex starved (though they have it aplenty), and hence really open about the whole thing.

Sex education:
Ill relate a personal experience. I had gone for this event called 'Passport' to ASU. It is basically a welcoming event for all freshman and first year graduates. There people from sex education had put up thier counter. SO I was just roaming about when this female comes to me and offers me 2 condoms. Shocking as it was, I realised she was from the counter and she was just promoting healthy practices. So I went up to thier counter and I see that apart from condoms, they were giving away dildos too. Well what can I say. I tried to act blithe. Back home sex-education is confined to 'Doordarshan' and 'Zara Si Saawdhani, Zindagi Bhar Aaasani!'

The Story:
Typical conversations on a Monday morning ( all characters are fictional. Any resemblence to any one living or dead is merely a coincidence...... But the conversations are close to the reality though)

To the right: Josh and Nathan.
To the left : Cynthia talking on phone with Natalie .
Josh and Nathan are 2 players in the football team and Cynthia is a cheer leader. Lets go listen to what they have to say.

Nathan: Dude! What are you saying man! You and Cynthia?
Josh: Really dude! No fuck. It was a feakish night! Could have boned her so hard that she would have screamed the shit out of her!
Nathan: After all these days. I never thought you'll make it. So finally you are together. You are the man!
Josh: Hey gotta go now. Take it easy!........

Cynthia: Natalie! You will not believe wha happened yesterday. Remember I told you how I fancy Josh?
Natalie: Who? The Quarterback?
Cynthia: Yes(mingled with excited giggling)! He asked me out after the game yesterday, can you believe that?
Natalie: whoopie! So how did it go?
Cynthia: I was like so thrilled! We went to Hooters on Mills and then in the night we made out at his place. He was so awesome! I could have gone on forever!
Natalie: No way! But did you guys have protection?
Cynthia: Oh yeah! He had everything ready, Plus I always have some pills with me... You never know ( giggles!)
Natalie: I am so happy for you. Ok I have to go now. Tell me all later.



You notice the difference in attitudes between the men and the women. But in the end it all boils down to this... everyone had sex yesterday night!



While India sex is never stated explicitely, it is always implied, always refered in hushed tones and indicated by furtive meaningful glances and giggles, here sex in itself is thrown about casually. People change partners like changing cloths.

We Indians Do not have sex...period!.......excuse me? Did you mention something? ... what?.. oh second largest population? Ahh oh well! We arent as prude as we seem eh?

What you shouldn't do while bending Time!

This just in : sources relate that the anti time travel group successfully contrived to murder the inventor of time travel before he even invented it. The complex procedure involved going back 7 years 3 months 23 days 59 minutes and 31 seconds to the actual instance before time travel came into existence. However this move to kill is pandemically considered as being the stupidest act of the century. As soon as Mr watzhiznehm( inventor) was killed, the 7 anti TT found out to their immense dismay that their time travelling instruments went poof! which of course becomes obvious to thought and natural flow of events. If TT was not invented, how did they time travel in the first place, and more importantly how are they going to return back to their wives waiting outside the now non existent time pods?

It is also interesting to note how this piece of news came to be unravelled (literally). It seems that our correspondent was in the process of 'doing it' to his maid; when he found a parchment from his wife, in the maids undergarments.Infact Mrs Smithers( the wife of the correspondent) was an active member of the ATT and presently (or pastly, depending on the readers discretion)is/was leading the team in the act . As she was aware of her husbands disloyalty, had hidden this message in the maid's garments 7 years ago to let him know she was trapped in time. This sudden revelation resulted in an uncharecteristically loud whoopping sound from our correspondent, and the rest that ensued is not dissimilar from what archemedes did when he postulated his priniple I.e running to deliver the news unclothed to our esteemed channel.The act resulted in mass distraction of general public and other ATT wives, so much so that they dint realise the time pods go poof and as a side effect of this temporary distraction, several drug addicts are wondering what they are doing floating 7 stories above ground while they were supposed to be lying splat after their suicidal attempts.

Sleep!

Traveling back home from a dreary day at office, one can’t help wondering how one could do with a good night’s slumber to wash out the memories of an unsuccessful day. It is still with these thoughts that I stand in the queue leading to a place where dinner is served. I don’t remember how the rest half an hour went through. It could be possible that I dozed through half the dinner with the right hand mechanically driving a spoon into the mouth, which in turn drove its contents into the stomach. That’s that I say because next when I gained my senses, I was mysteriously on my bed ready for that long yearned slumber.

Sleep is by far the most invigorating activity one can indulge in (after you wake up that is).I am all for being active and ‘invigorated’, and the secret of my prolonged active state through the day is that I tend to sleep a lot …mostly through the day! I find it the cheapest of all excursions, in fact it costs nothing at all! (of course neglecting the cost of a sumptuous dinner). You can travel far and wide in your dreams and not pay a penny at toll booths and ticket counters for the simple blissful reason that they don’t exist at all. I wonder what will happen if the government wakes up one day and decides to levy tax on dream hours (in your worst dreams brother! That’s never going to happen…one hopes ) It would generate millions in revenues, with tax proportional to both hours and distance you travel. Even insurance companies can cash in, with special policies that cover accidents ( or maybe death) that can transpire in that mystic world governed by a semiconscious brain. Ha! Talk of rubbish!

Enough of rambling, back to where I was now. They say that your dreams are related to your thoughts during the last moments before sleep, which can’t be much because most of the time you are in a delirium…at least I am. Anyways, I enter that elusive alpha state and slowly ease of into beta. Presently I am scaling Mt everest.

“Why am I doing it?,I cant even climb a staircase without falling down. This is scary”

“ Its just a dream dude!”

“Who was that? Is it you God?”

“Iam your subconscience you fool!”

“Oh Cool, I didn’t know I had one. I was feeling lonely anyway, can you help me get down? I think I need to go to the loo! Where the heck are you”

“ I reside in a small region above your Hypothalamus. Enough of this. Change of scenery!”

“Ok so where am I. lets do some logical analysis. The skyline looks familiar, I am standing some place very high…my god it is chilly here! Hey isn’t that… Oh I am in New York .Great, What now?”

Suddenly I get this nagging uncomfortable feeling. What is this? Why is everything blurring out? And there begins a fervent discussion to analyse the root cause of this new development. After minutes of pondering the occipital part in the uppermost recesses of my head announces that it is nothing but stool approaching critical mass!

Occipit: “OK now get up buster! We have enough of training to avoid embarrassing circumstances!

Temporal brain, assume control! Open eye!”

“Ugh! Let me sleep! I Don’t want to go to school today mama!”

“Get up you moron!”

“No Ill change my body position!”

Thus continues the fight between various portions of my CPU. Meanwhile livid at being left out of the thick of things, the small region above the H joins the binge and conjures up images of someone falling!

“Holy mother of God !! I am falling”

“You are still dreaming!”

“Oh its you again! Thank god… but this is scary get me out!”

And in these moments of indecision, a left hand and a right leg give a violent twitch and while the brain tries to control the twitching limbs, it loses control of the torso which manages to roll off the bed.

As an aftermath the bedroom rings with a dull ‘thud!’ and a meek ‘Oww!’. Im still half asleep and and try to stop the walls from swimming around me… in vain. A sudden burst of pain shoots up my left calf and shatters against my teeth . “Damn the chair!! who the f@#$ left it there? Oh it was me”. Finally awake and swearing a string of profound expletives, I deign to empty myself in the nearest loo, swear not to drink water before bed, examine myself for any damage done and drop back on the bed.

This time thankfully sleep is uninterrupted, terminated only by the piercing rays of an ‘invigorated’ 9 o’ clock sun!

Space, Time and Black holes!

I am sure that anyone and everyone who is a science freak would have at sometime of one's life fantasized about these three aforementioned,very elusive quantities . And I am more than doubly sure that a greater science freak would have read 'A Brief History of Time'-By Stephen Hawkins . Though it is really out of bounds ( w.r.t understanding)for the laity, it definitely gives a profound insight into Black Holes and the intimate relation it shares with both time and space.

For the sake of the uninitiated , and for later benifit( ie where i shall discuss my own opinions),let me first outline the basics required of this dicussion. (For those who already know this, please bear with me). The universe, as we all know, has around about 10 to the power 11 galaxies, and it is stipulated that each of these galaxies consists of around about the same number of stars. Now these stars can be classified into 7 groups in accordance to their size ( i dont exactly remember the classification but it goes like G,K,L...). Our Sun comes in the medium size range. Now as the size differs, so does the way of 'dying' of these stars. Stars die due to the converstion of hydrogen atoms into heavier elements through fusion. Black holes are formed when particularly large stars 'die' ( which occurs by way of enlargement and culminating in a supernova explosion).These black holes then become the centre of an extraordinarily strong gravitation force.So strong that even light cannot escape. Often such points in space are also called ' Singularity'. Secondly Surrounding each black hole is a region called ' event horizon'( which can simply be explained as the point of no return for light!)As has been explained by various scientists : To get a fair idea about a black hole, consider a perfectly elastic rubber sheet. Now if a ball is placed at the centre of this sheet, it keeps on sinking( for want of a more suitable word) in the sheet, theoretically, if it is perfectly elastic, the ball should sink till infinity.

Now comes the interesting part. Einstien praposed time to be the fourth dimension. As in, the motion of an object can be perfectly described by its position at a particular instant and the time it takes to reach there . Now if we had marked the rubber sheet with a grid ( one axis as position and another axis as time) we would find that at the point where the ball was kept, the grid converges to one point. To better understand the point, i can rephrase it as ,all position points meet at the same time and all time becomes one!! And with this remarkable observation, you will find a number of open avenues viz: time travel, worm tunnels, and the existance of multiverse and its origin.

From here on i leave behind what are the facts, to what i believe ( ie my thoughts and opinions related to the topic). There is an ongoing discussion between the members of the scientific community about the nature of universe and the origin. Some believe that universe started with a big bang( out of seemingly ... nothing), others believe in an expanding and contracting universe. I , find myself more inclined to the later theory... however there still exists a basic question, where did all this matter come from??

Well here it goes...after reading i've come to the conclusion that probably the universe doesnt exist as a singular quantity . What if say the universe ( which is of course by name singular) is not actually singular, but a multiverse( let us take a dual universe system for sake of simplicity). Confused? Ok lets take two balloons , and connect them at their spouts! now suppose one of them is full of air and the other is empty. If we consider the reaction force of air as negligible, in the presence of an initial driving force, the balloons will expand and contract alternatively( with some time period of oscillation). While one expands, the other contracts! Now suppose these two balloons were two different universii. The situation becomes interesting doesnt it? Two universii co- existing in a symbiotic expand-contract relationship.However this does not explain how the mass initially got there.

To make it more interesting... what if the two balloons were the same universe but in completely different times? like for example:I am somehow sharing information with my future self/ past self!! To be more elucidatory, what if right now our universe is getting mass from itself in another time? and thus expanding, while its other self is contracting! There can be many such selves in various times, expanding or contracting.Since universe is contracting and expanding, there will be a time when the mass is zero( after end of contraction) but it is still connected to its other self, which at this instant will start pouring into the empty verse!! ( Big bang!!)

Expanding this line of thought, with time as a running parameter between all these universii( i call them universii as they are still singular in thier repective time frames), there can be infinite number of universii, each separated from the other by time instants( very small fraction of seconds) just like there can be infinite points on a circle. I compare them with a circle as this activity of the universii has to be cyclic, with the lowest point as big bang, and the highest point as the direct opp. of big bang!

Now you may ask how these universii are connected. Through black holes and worm tunnels of course! It is postulated that once something enters event horizon, the mass is destroyed and it becomes pure energy spiralling around the black holes( like in a whirlpool). However what happens if some of the energy falls into the singularity itself? How can we lose information? something has to be conserved! Now using my line of thought, what if say black holes form ends of worm tunnels? like ends of a pipe. Something entering from one end has to exit from the other end. Now if these two ends can be assumed to be in different times..... I suppose u can draw out where im leading to. We hit upon the medium of transfer between two universe. Something is amiss isnt it? How can the black hole emit energy/mass? well every black hole also has a life cycle( as has already been proved by scientists). One half ,it absorbs and the other half it emits.Also there are white holes which are exact opposites of black holes and pulsars and quasars.or it could just difuse out at the other end forming a cosmic cloud. When this cloud becomes massive enough it is turned into a star!!! And since all time becomes one ( as i have already explained how) at black hole, the mass entering at this instant could reappear instantaneously at the other side at a completely different time!!! Hence one more fascinating prospect.... Time travel!!

Whew... i Dont know how many got through what ive said. However, all this may sophomoric and can even be totally wrong . What matters is this is what i thought could be possible and here ive shared it with you.

Haircut?

Is it already time for another haircut? I find myself musing while indulging in a long overdue shave! Hmm... yes the locks really have grown out of the acceptable praportions behind my ears and on the back of my head. Well i think this calls for expenditure of another precious Rs 25( an expenditure I can definitely do without in times when the only things that come out of my pockets are buterflies) I can think of an infinite number of avenues that I'd rather spend this 25 bucks on. But haircut it will have to be, or risk looking like one particular friend of mine( who makes no secret of the fact that he might be related to some sub species of grizzly bear).You get the gist of it I suppose.

So an hour later i find myself ( a knack i am getting an expert at) trudging along this newly laid road, full of potholes, towards Sunshine Parlour ( my usual haircut salon). In India the roads are never new unless there are a few potholes. Pothole less roads are just not the in- thing!! OK Why did I chose sunshine one might ask. Its probably because it charges the least of all the salons in the area, or probably because it is the least congested whenever I go.Anyways where was I? ah.. yes i was trudging towards SP. I entered and the chap promptly made me sit on the nearest chair. I must say these chairs are really comfortable things. Coupled with the monotonous click- clicking and slice- slicing of the scissors it REALLY puts you in some sort of a reverie. Its nothing but you and your thoughts in utter solitude for 15 whole minutes. So I was really getting comfy, when this not-so-comfy thought struck... why am I getting this haircut done? why cant I let it grow? Didnt I so diligently take care of it for the past three weeks? Oiling it, shampooing and grooming it so it is lusturous? why let it all go waste suddenly now? I remember only two days ago I was in this supermart trying to choose the best brand of shampoo for my hair. I swear it is a mind boggling business. 6 different brands of shampoo, with 10 different compositions, in 3 different sizes for 7 different hair textures!! i might as well spend the rest of my life trying each one and publish which suits my hair best. Add to it conditioners and oil!! its a difficult job you know. And here I was ... getting a hair cut.

I wonder what is of more pith and moment? The length of the hair or the style? I asked this to the chap who was click -clicking behind me ,and his " jo bhi aap bolo saab! " did not seem to be the real answer to my query. Hence i continued in my rusings. Think of it... it seems sine qua non for rock stars to have long hair, soldiers invariably have v. short hair, punks get spikes done or some other-worldly hair do, and hippies?? well forget about them...You'll know one when you see one. We live in an a society where each and every individual is distinctly divided into a family name( surname), a middle name and a first name! Tell me, is it essential to know all this or for that matter, his religion and caste to judge the character of the person, where a simple glance at his hair style would suffice?

It his amazing how mundane things in life become so complicated when you really look into it. For me ( and I suppose for most of man- kind, which is different from woman -kind) a hair cut is generally taken for granted.

However it is jarring to note the difference of perspectives of the two sexes ,over an issue as commonplace as a haircut. As the chap siezes to 'click-clicking' and switces to shaving with his razor, I am reminded of this conversation.

*Woman1: Oh! You got a haircut! That's so cute!
Woman2: Do you think so? I wasn't sure when she gave me the mirror. I mean, you don't think it's too fluffy looking?
Woman1: Oh God, no! No, it's perfect. I'd love to get my hair cut like that, but I think my face is too wide. I'm pretty much stuck with this stuff I think.
Woman2: Are you serious? I think your face is adorable. And you could easily get one of those layer cuts -- I think that would look so cute. I was actually going to do that except that I was afraid it would accent my long neck.
Woman1: Oh, that's funny! I would love to have your neck! Anything to take attention away from this two-by-four I have for a shoulder line.
Woman2: Are you kidding? I know girls that would love to have your shoulders. Everything drapes so well on you. I mean, look at my arms -- see how short they are? If I had your shoulders I could get clothes to fit me so much easier . . .

Man1: Haircut?
Man2: Yup ***

I am jolted out of this reverie by a raspy voice: " saab ho gaya! Pacchees rupaya hua saab!" and as i complete the payment I cant stop thinking that this was 15 minutes well spent!

The Gravity of the Situation!!

Ahh.. here goes! I wonder when my fascination with space and with galactic entities found its roots. It must have been the day my friend- Ajit and I took a peek into his big book and saw the Earth for the first time, that beautiful blue-green ball embraced in a sea of stars and a big fiery ball to its left..( I was too young that time to identify it as earth… I probably thought it to be the most wonderful football beside someone’s fireplace) It was only after later ruminations that I realized it as the ground we live on. During those days of most ignorant bliss, I actually thought the ground was flat. And every jaunt to the sea side made me wonder how the water keeps replenishing itself when it should theoretically fall of the earth's edges( rain was definitely a probable solution… but all the more unsatisfactory).
Slowly as this imperceptible quantity called time passed by, through my schooling years, I came across this bloke called Newton. (which was probably in sixth grade) It seems that he was sleeping under an apple tree one day when this ripe red forbidden fruit falls on his head.. BONK !!( I say that was one source of fitful laughter. Imagine a white haired man, in tights , being hit on the head by a tree he was sleeping under) and voi-la the next moment he solves this great mystery .It seems that all along the earth was round and everything was pulled towards its main big mass because of some force called gravity . That’s why apples fell on heads! Hmmm… why apples though? Why not oranges? or coconuts? I am sure, even in those times everything fell. You see something falling everyday. Rocks, rain, Columbia …..everything! I suppose it was the impact. It must have addled his brains. Tell me which sane person would come up with such an obscure explanation? Personally I stuck to my theory:-Firstly it all depends on the big-ness of the person, the bigger the person is, the harder it is to jump. Which explains why the chap next door cant jump. Short and simple! Secondly, if you are strong and jump hard enough , you can always reach the stars, I mean look at hanuman! he did it right?
Anyways as I told u , I was ignorant. Again this imperceptible quantity called time passed by. I was 12th grade now. By this time I had read all about the force field surrounding every mass. An attractive power that draws u to itself! (beautiful people must have a stock full of gravity field). Why God Why?? Why did thou not bless me with copious gravity?? OK after a fair bit of profanities I move on. Suddenly this one fine morning, I find myself cuddled up with this big red book( my life is full of big books!I think it is their greater share of gravity that attracts me to them) called Elements of Physics by Halliday- Resnick, when I come across a term - Gravitons!! Hmm that struck a chord somewhere!! I know electrons, protons etc. They are responsible for electric fields aren't they? What the heck were gravitons? So I indulged further in the reading of the big red B! And this indulging business confirmed my worst fears. Here I was feeling really contended and warmed up with the force theory of gravity, postulated by a few greats( principal--ly that white haired bloke with addled brains), and these new sctientists ( physicists they call themselves) come up with a grossly new theory; of gravity made of gravitons! Akin to electricity made of electrons! Imagine being pulled by miniscule particles along a path with invisible spindles towards some unknown quantity. Calculate the possibilities. Do you realise how many gravitons might be pulling you at this very moment in a gamut of directions bordering upon infinity? I feel stretched already!
Damn it I say! Why cant we just leave things be? Why should everything be studied so extensively as to destroy the very divinity of these phenomena. Why cant we not live in a world where red is red, and big books are big books instead of a particularly well arranged structure of organic molecules? I wonder where this will lead us to next. 10 years down the lane I might find my 5 year old son grappling with terms and phenomena that he cannot fathom. Do you realise the Gravity of the situation? Or should i say the Gravitons of the situation!