Sound Bytes

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The Campus at IIT KGP is full of trees. It is a Paradise for bird-lovers (ornithologists, if you want the sound byte). Jim Corbett in his 'Jungle Lore' divides birds into 6 groups (he knows!):

1. Beautiful (minivets, orioles, sunbirds; come on Corbett, give the Hindi words, we have a Park named for you -;)

2. Melodious (thrushes, robins, shamas)

3. Regenerating (barbets, hornbills, bulbuls.. there you are Corbett!)

4. Warning (drongos, red jungle-fowl)

5. Nature-balancing (eagles, hawks, owls)

6. Scavenging (vultures, kites and crows).

I am surprised Corbett omits the cuckoo and the peacock. One is ugly but sweet; the other the other way round. Everyone enjoys the song of cuckoo but never asks its meaning. A thing which has nice sound but means either nothing or grand nonsense is my definition of a 'sound byte'.

Our University in the 1960s had a grand tradition of Experimental Physics (Raman and Bhagavantham worked there...some detractors say that Raman stole the work of Bhagavantham..doesn't matter, both are Indians for a Desh Bhakt like me).

But it had little use for theory. The theory teachers were a scared lot; escapists. Soon we found out that it is better not to ask them any questions. Not even simple ones like:"If the action and reaction are equal and opposite, how does a horse-drawn cart move at all? The horse pulls the cart forward and the cart pulls the horse backward..".

Forget about Quantum Mechanics. The Professor would simply smile away if anyone asks about the Uncertainty Principle's meaning. Like the shopkeeper in Abu Dhabhi. I am told they never say 'no' for any goods that are out of stock...saying 'no' is taboo..they simply smile away.

The Professors of a certain branch of Physics at IIT KGP were worse. They would shout. I had been brushed aside and called a 'fool' asking 'nonsense' questions. Incidentally 'nonsense' was a swear word for our Bengalee teachers. It is a red rag.

I simply asked: "If Bragg Scattering and Compton Scattering occur for the same X-ray beam falling on the same crystal, why does one give spots while the other gives noise?" They would all smile knowingly and say: "Don't you know that one is 'coherent' while the other is 'incoherent'?". Then I ask why. They would scowl, call me an ignoramus and also a 'nuisance'. It took 20 years for poor me to figure it out my own way, and I published a Note in the European Journal of Physics to which the grand old Bleany wanted to add a para of his own; Noblesse Oblige!

The 'coherent' and 'incoherent' of our Profs are supreme examples of 'sound bytes'.

My father was a student of Sanskrit. He used to recite the Veda Mantras like Purusha Suktam, Shree Suktam, Mantra Pushpam in his grand voice loudly. I was charmed by them and used to ask him what they mean. He would gently say that the meanings are not as important as the sounds: Vedas have a 'sound value'. I was skeptical, but enjoyed them all the same.

The other day I was gifted a beautiful book containing all those Veda Mantras and more, with word-by-word meaning and exposition, published by the Ramakrishna Mission (May it live on Forever!). I was drawn back to my childhood and the memory of my father's resounding voice.

Most of them are genuine sincere prayers for Nature Gods like Sun, Wind, Night, Dawn, Fire, Wealth. No harm.

But the grandest of them all, which I now read day in and day out has atrocious meanings. It is our Rishis' equivalent of Bible's 'Genesis' and equally foul.

But I read it nowadays day in and day out for its beautiful 'sound value'.

The greatest 'sound byte' in the Vedas...Purusha Suktam...May it live on Forever!