Guest guest Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 Dear Vedic wellwishers, Before anyone rejoice over the publicity for Vedic Sciences, I advise extreme caution about the intentions of THE WEEK in these articles. Please don't forget the fact that THE WEEK is owned by MANORAMA group of Kerala, who are very well known in distorting facts and playing up their Christian agenda so adeptly without any suspicion. This subtle technique is inherent in this article also (by Samuel Abraham) but it is difficult to notice it unless one is very careful. Manorama Group (who owns MRF also) has perfected the art of appearing to 'run with the hare while hunting for the hounds' so well that it is often difficult for anyone to understand their real intentions. Suffice it to say that Kerala, which means land of coconut trees, has become 'Rubbala' mainly because of such propaganda. It is quite possible that they might conclude such articles by establishing that Jesus Christ wrote the Vedas and Upanishads when he was holidaying in Kashmir !!!!! So beware. - "Krishna Maheshwari" <kkm5848 <vediculture> 22 October, 2001 05:12 [world-vedic] FW: India Cover Story. Lost Science of India June 24, 2001 The Week.htm > India Cover Story. Lost Science of India June 24, 2001 The WeekI wanted to > forward this ... very interesting info about Ancient India and Vedic > Sciences. > > > Krishna Maheshwari > > -------------------------------- > > India Cover Story. Lost Science of India June 24, 2001 The Week.htm > > > > > > June 24, 2001 > > > > > > METALLURGY > MATHEMATICS > MEDICINE > ARCHITECTURE > PHYSICS > OPINION > > > > > Cover story > > > Lost knowledge > > By Samuel Abraham > > > A few thousand years are a short period in the timetable of India. Its myths > and religious symbols take us millions of years beyond archaeological > findings. And so "the Indian mind," as French thinker Guy Sorman puts it, > "was better prepared for the chronological mutations of Darwinian evolution > and astrophysics" that shook the west. > > Behind this spiritual image is a hint of historical truth about its > materialistic traditions. "By the lowest reckoning, India, China and the > Arabian peninsula take from our empire 100 million sesterces [coins] every > year," records 1st century Roman historian Pliny in his encyclopaedic > Historia Naturalis. "That is the sum which our luxuries and our women cost > us." > > Post-liberalisation India is familiar with such talk. But in the early part > of the Christian era the active trade between Western Indian ports and > Alexandria on the Mediterranean had spices, muslin, pearl, aquamarine beryl > and steel draining Roman wealth in exchange for wine, vases, glass, tin and > lead. > > Ideas travelled faster in a world where there were no intellectual property > rights. Scholars from Greece, Arabia, Persia, China and India interacted > with one another, borrowed manuscripts and translated them. Buddhist scholar > Sthavira Prajnadeva's letter of 654 AD to Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang > talks of sutras and sastras which he would arrange to copy and send him. > > There are clear indications that ancient India gave the world many a legacy > in mathematics, medicine and natural sciences. The 'place value' concept in > the decimal system of numbers and the concept of 'zero' travelled to Europe > from India through the Arab world. The ingenious technology of zinc > distillation predates by a few centuries a similar technique discovered in > Europe. The technology of wootz steel still baffles metallurgists. > > In the following pages The Week unrolls the past for a look into some of > ancient India's spectacular achievements in science. > > METALLURGY > Saladin's sword > The finest Damascus steel was made by a process known only to Indians > > Saladin the Saracen had a steely edge over Richard the Lion-hearted. Sir > Walter Scott, in his romance The Talisman, describes a meeting of the two > mediaeval monarchs who crossed swords in the Crusades. > > After examining an iron bar that Richard cut in two with his sword, Saladin > took a silk cushion from the floor and placed it upright on one end. "Can > thy weapon, my brother, sever that cushion?" he said to King Richard. > > "No, surely," replied the King, "no sword on earth, were it the Excalibur of > King Arthur, can cut that which poses no steady resistance to the blow." > > "Mark, then," said Saladin and unsheathed his scimitar, a curved and narrow > blade of a dull blue colour, marked with ten millions of meandering lines > and drew it across the cushion, applying the edge so dexterously that the > cushion seemed rather to fall asunder than to be divided by violence. > > Scott mentions that the sabres and poniards of the Ayyubid troops were of > Damascene steel. > > The original Damascus steel-the world's first high-carbon steel-was a > product of India known as wootz. Wootz is the English for ukku in Kannada > and Telugu, meaning steel. Indian steel was used for making swords and > armour in Persia and Arabia in ancient times. Ktesias at the court of Persia > (5th c BC) mentions two swords made of Indian steel which the Persian king > presented him. The pre-Islamic Arab word for sword is 'muhannad' meaning > from Hind. > > Wootz was produced by carburising chips of wrought iron in a closed crucible > process. "Wrought iron, wood and carbonaceous matter was placed in a > crucible and heated in a current of hot air till the iron became red hot and > plastic. It was then allowed to cool very slowly (about 24 hours) until it > absorbed a fixed amount of carbon, generally 1.2 to 1.8 per cent," said > eminent metallurgist Prof. T.R. Anantharaman, who taught at Banares Hindu > University, Varanasi. "When forged into a blade, the carbides in the steel > formed a visible pattern on the surface." To the sixth century Arab poet Aus > b. Hajr the pattern appeared described 'as if it were the trail of small > black ants that had trekked over the steel while it was still soft'. > > The carbon-bearing material packed in the crucible was a clever way to lower > the melting-point of iron (1535 degrees centigrade). The lower the > melting-point the more carbon got absorbed and high-carbon steel was formed. > > In the early 1800s, Europeans tried their hand at reproducing wootz on an > industrial scale. Michael Faraday, the great experimenter and son of a > blacksmith, tried to duplicate the steel by alloying iron with a variety of > metals but failed. Some scientists were successful in forging wootz but they > still were not able to reproduce its characteristics, like the watery mark. > "Scientists believe that some other micro-addition went into it," said > Anantharaman. "That is why the separation of carbide takes place so > beautifully and geometrically." > > Francis Buchanan and other European travellers have observed the manufacture > of steel by crucible process at several places in Mysore, Malabar and > Golconda from the 17th century onwards. The furnace sketched by Buchanan > shows that crucibles were packed in rows of 15 inside a pit filled with ash. > A wall separated the bellows from the furnace, with only the snout of the > bellows sticking out through the wall. Each crucible could contain up to 14 > ounces of iron, along with stems and leaves. > > The crucible process could have originated in south India and the finest > steel was from the land of Cheras, said K. Rajan, associate professor of > archaeology at Tamil University, Thanjavur, who explored a 1st century AD > trade centre at Kodumanal near Coimbatore. Rajan's excavations revealed an > industrial economy at Kodumanal. > > A sword bit excavated from there had a thin layer of high-carbon steel on > the cutting edge. Apart from this, there was a coating of thin white layer, > probably to protect the edge from rust! > > Pillar of strength > The rustless wonder called the Iron Pillar near the Qutb Minar at Mehrauli > in Delhi did not attract the attention of scientists till the second quarter > of the 19th century. > > The first reports of the pillar were by British soldiers, and Captain Archer > talked about its inscription of 'unknown antiquity which nobody can read'. > James Prinsep, an Indian antiquarian, deciphered the inscription in 1838 and > translated it into English in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. > > Scholars consider the pillar to be of early Gupta period (320-495 AD) on > grounds of palaeography, content and language of the inscription and the > style of execution. But there are differences in opinion over whether the > king referred to in the inscription as Chandra is Samudragupta (340-375) or > his son Chandragupta II (375-415). The pillar was perhaps a standard for > supporting an image of Garuda, the bird carrier of Lord Vishnu. > > The inscription refers to a ruler named Chandra, who had conquered the > Vangas and Vahlikas, and the breeze of whose valour still perfumed the > southern ocean. "The king who answers the description is none but > Samudragupta, the real founder of the Gupta empire," said Prof. T.R. > Anantharaman, who has authored The Rustless Wonder, a monograph published by > Vigyan Prasar. > > The excellent state of preservation of the Iron Pillar, near the Qutb Minar > at Mehrauli in Delhi, despite exposure for 15 centuries to the elements has > amazed corrosion technologists. In Pic, metallurgist Prof. T.R. > Anantharaman, who has authored the Rustless wonder > > In 1961, the pillar (23 feet and 8 inches, and 6 tonnes) was dug out for > chemical treatment and preservation and reinstalled by embedding the > underground part in a masonry pedestal. Chemical analyses have indicated > that the pillar was astonishingly pure or low in carbon compared with modern > commercial iron. > > In 1963, M.K. Ghosh of the National Metallurgical Laboratory concluded that > the pillar had been very effectively forge-welded. B.B. Lal, chief chemist > at the Archaeological Survey of India, also came to the conclusion that the > pillar was not cast, but fabricated by forging and hammer-welding lumps of > hot pasty iron, weighing 20 to 30 kg, in a step-by-step process. The surface > of the pillar retains marks of hammer blows. It is assumed that 120 > labourers took a fortnight to complete this daunting task. > > The excellent state of preservation of the Iron Pillar despite exposure for > 15 centuries to the elements has amazed corrosion technologists. High > phosphorus, low sulphur, low manganese and high slag contents contribute > individually and collectively to the good corrosion resistance. > > Besides, a protective oxide film, 50 to 600 microns thick, has formed on the > pillar. This is less than 50 microns in the bright, polished section where > people used to clasp around for luck. > > Galvanising feat > The oldest among the triad of metallurgical marvels of ancient India is the > extraction of zinc. Zinc is better known as a constituent of brass than a > metal in its own right. Brass with 10 per cent zinc glitters like gold. > > The earliest brass objects in India have been unearthed from Taxila (circa > 44 BC). They had more than 35 per cent zinc. "This high content of zinc > could be put in only by direct fusion of metallic zinc and copper," said > Prof. T.R. Anantharaman. The other process, which is no more in use, is by > heating zinc ore and copper metal at high temperatures, but the zinc content > in brass then cannot be more than 28 per cent. > > Zinc smelting is very complicated as it is a very volatile material. Under > normal pressure it boils at 913 degrees centigrade. To extract zinc from its > oxide, the oxide must be heated to about 1200 degrees in clay retorts. In an > ordinary furnace the zinc gets vapourised, so there has to be a reducing > atmosphere. By an ingenious method of reverse distillation ancient > metallurgists saw to it that there was enough carbon to reduce the heat. > > Proof of the process came from excavations at Zawar in Rajasthan. The Zawar > process consisted of heating zinc in an atmosphere of carbon monoxide in > clay retorts arranged upside down, and collecting zinc vapour in a cooler > chamber placed vertically beneath the retort. > > Zinc metallurgy travelled from India to China and from there to Europe. As > late as 1735, professional chemists in Europe believed that zinc could not > be reduced to metal except in the presence of copper. The alchemical texts > of the mediaeval period show that the tradition was live in India. > > In 1738, William Champion established the Bristol process to produce > metallic zinc in commercial quantities and got a patent for it. > Interestingly, the mediaeval alchemical text Rasaratnasamucchaya describes > the same process, down to adding 1.5 per cent common salt to the ore. > > > > > > MATHEMATICS > Acts of faith > Manuals for rituals are the earliest documents of geometry in India > > A 3,000-year-old ritual was resurrected at Panjal in Kerala in April 1975. A > 12-day Agnicayana, or Atiratra, was performed on a bird-shaped altar of a > thousand bricks. The altar was a geometricians' delight. > > The area of each layer of the altar, for instance, was seven and a half > times a square purusa, the size of the sacrificer or the Yajamana. A fifth > of the size of the Yajamana, panchami, was the basic unit of the bricks. > > The rules for measurement and construction of sacrificial altars are found > in the Sulba Sutras, the earliest documents of geometry in India. Sulba > means cord. Of the various Sulba Sutras, those of Baudhayana, Apastamba and > Katyayana are best known. Scholars believe the sutras were composed during > 800-500 BC. > > The mathematical knowledge in the texts comes from the creation of altars or > bricks in various shapes-rhombus, isosceles trapezium, square, rectangle, > isosceles right-angled triangle or circle. A square-shaped altar sometimes > had to become circular without any change in the area or vice-versa. > Obviously, the authors of the Sulba texts knew the value of pi, which is the > ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. > > The theory of right angles is attributed to Greek philosopher Pythagoras > (6th century BC). But Baudhayana mentions that the diagonal of a rectangle > produces by itself both (the areas) produced separately by its two sides. In > simple terms, this means that the square of the diagonal is equal to the sum > of the squares of two sides. In the next rule he says that the rectangles > for which the theorem is true have the sides as 3 and 4 [32+42=52], 12 and > 5, 15 and 8, 7 and 24, 12 and 35, 15 and 36. The theorem is given in all the > Sulba Sutras. > > The relation between the length, breadth and hypotenuse of a rectangle > [x2+y2=z2] was discovered by the Babylonians and Egyptians long before > Pythagoras. The Chinese followed almost the same algebraic technique. > Eminent mathematician A.K. Bag, who has edited Sulba Sutras along with S.N. > Sen, has discussed the parallelism in other cultures and ritual geometry in > India. He observes that the Egyptian, Indian and Greek methods may have some > links at some stages because of the use of cord and peg. > > But he says tackling of mathematical and geometrical problems with rational > numbers and irrational numbers [such as square-root of 2] was a unique > achievement of early Indians. They even had technical terms such as > dvikarani, trikarani and panchakarani (for square-roots of 2, 3 and 5) and > so on and gave their values to a high degree of approximation. > The mathematics in Sulba texts also involves a highly sophisticated brick > technology. Ten types of bricks were used to build the altar at Panjal. > > Astrology is not scientific: Kochhar > > Fragments of mathematical works by Jain mathematicians are found in the > canonical or non-mathematical texts before the 4th century AD. Sthananga > Sutra, a Jain work of the 1st century AD, lists several topics including > quadratic equations, algebra and permutations and combinations. > > The next mathematical work of significance is the 3rd or 4th century AD > Bakshali Manuscript-so called because it was discovered in a village called > Bakshali (near Peshawar). The major portion of it deals with fractions, > square-roots, progressions, income and expenditure, profit and loss, > computation of gold, interest, rule of three and summation of complex > series. > > The landmark of mathematical work after this is the astronomical work > Aryabhatiya of Aryabhatta (b. AD 476). Here we come across geometry. > Aryabhatiya geometry moves from the earth to sky. > > What the stars foretell > The first formal treatise on astronomy is the Vedanga Jyotisha, dated about > 1400 BC. It talks of a five-year yuga (time span) consisting of 67 lunar > months, which incorrectly corresponds to 366 days in a year. But a peculiar > concept was of the Rahu and Ketu which eclipsed the sun and the moon. This > was later identified as two imaginary points where the path of the moon > intersects the apparent path of the sun. For an eclipse to occur the moon > should be at one of these two points. > > The firm historical hand on ancient astronomy is the calendrical information > in Asoka's edict (300 BC) and the Mahabharata text (compiled during 400 > BC-400 AD). After a grey area from Asoka's period onwards, the major text > later is Aryabhatia (499 AD), the Siddhantic or mathematical astronomy text > of Aryabhatta. "It is the oldest in whole of Sanskrit literature which is > accurately dated," says Rajesh Kochhar, astrophysicist and director of > National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies in New > Delhi. > > Aryabhatta taught that the earth spun on its axis and gave the correct > explanation of the eclipses. Aryabhatta's genius extends to his development > of an alphabetical system of expressing numbers on the decimal place value > model and in calculating the most accurate value of pi as 3.1416. > > The development of Siddhantic astronomy came as a result of interaction with > Greece in the post-Alexandrian period (3rd century BC). "Vedanga Jyotisha > does not mention week days or zodiacal signs but in the Siddhantic > astronomical texts zodiacal signs are inbuilt," says Kochhar. "There are > many new inputs in Aryabhatta's work." > > Aryabhatta's follower Varahamihira (c. 505 AD) compiled five siddhantas, two > of which bear testimony to outside influence. The most accurate is Surya > Siddhanta, which was revised several times. > > A significant feature of the siddhantas was the use of time cycles of > mahayugas. A mahayuga starts at an epoch when all planets are in > conjunction. During a mahayuga they will perform an integral number of > revolutions and at the end of a mahayuga they are again in conjunction. A > mahayuga is made up of 4,320,000 years and is divided into four: krita, > dvapara, treta and kali. Aryabhatta assumed all the yugas to be of equal > duration whereas others took it in the ratio of 4:3:2:1. In other words, > kali would be 432,000, treta double that, dvapara three and krita four > times. > > An important name in siddhanta astronomy is Brahmagupta (c. 598 AD). He > bitterly criticised Aryabhatta for deviating from tradition, for saying that > the earth is not stationary, and for dividing a yuga into four cycles. His > books Brahmasphuta Siddhanta and Khandakadhyaya were translated into Arabic > in the 8th century. Arab traveller Al-Biruni of the 10th century describes > Khandakadhyaya as "the best known of all and preferred by astronomers to all > others". > > The main occupation of Indian astronomers for the next thousand years was > the calculation of planetary orbits. The tradition was alive in Kerala till > about 150 years ago. Says Kochhar: "Till German scientist Johannes Kepler's > laws in the 17th century, when it became easier to calculate planetary > orbits, Indian astronomers were the only ones who could predict eclipses > accurately. Kepler's laws are superior to Aryabhatta's calculations." > > Calculating planetary orbits led to many developments in mathematics, the > high point of which was the decimal system. It travelled westwards through > 9th century Arab mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. Aryabhatta also gives tables of > astronomical constants and trigonometric sine tables in the Ganitapada > section of his text. > > Sum and substance > There has been a renewed interest in Vedic Mathematics or Sixteen > Simple Mathematical Formulae from the Vedas by Jagadguru Shankaracharya > Swami Shri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja of Govardhan Peeth Mutt, Puri, > originally published by Banaras Hindu University in 1965. The book offers > answers to all mathematical problems-including arithmetic, algebra, > geometry-in 16 sutras or aphorisms. > > One of the sutras or aphorisms given by the Sankaracharya in his book > is Nikhilam Navatha, Charamam Dasatha (All from 9, last from 10) to subtract > any number from a power of 10. The idea is to subtract every digit from 9 > and the last from 10. > > That is, 10,000-2689 would mean (9-2) (9-6) (9-8) (10-9) = 7311. > > If the same number is to be subtracted from 100,000 add one zero to > the left of 2689 and use the same technique. > > That is, (9-0) (9-2) (9-6) (9-8) (10-9) = 97311 > > Another sutra, Yavadunam Thevadunikritiya, Vargam Cha Yojaet, is to > find the square of numbers. > > To find the square of 8 you have to subtract 2 from 8 for the first > part of the answer; 2 is the difference of 8 from 10. The second part is the > square of 2, i.e. 4. So the answer is 64. > > Similarly, the first part of the square of 7 would be [7-(10-7)] 4. > The second part is the square of (10-7) or the square of 3 which is 9. The > answer here is 49. > > The square of 93 is [93-(100-93)], 7x7 = 8649. > > The square of those numbers which exceed the power of 10 like 107 is > [(100+7)+7], 7x7 = 11449. > > The rest of the sutras also are simple formulae to compute many > mathematical problems which have earned many admirers not just in India but > abroad as well. > > But the book has been mired in controversy with some questioning the > 'vedicity' of the sutras on the ground of the language and the level of > mathematics it deals with. The Shankaracharya, a scholar in mathematics, had > claimed that the sutras are from the parisistha (appendix) of the > Atharvaveda. > > A.K. Bag, who reviewed the book in the Indian Journal of History of > Science, said no scholar had been able to trace this relationship. D.P. > Chattopadhyay in his Science and Technology in Ancient India shows it as a > classic example of the 'wrong way of reading the vedas'. He says the title > is worthless, notwithstanding the mathematical excellence of the book. > > Is astrology a science? > Mainstream science does not accept astrology as science, says astrophysicist > Rajesh Kochhar. "The methodology of science is more important than the > results. Scientific theories are not based on provability but on > falsiability," he says, quoting Karl Popper's theory of falsiability in > verification of a scientific proposition. > > For instance, if one makes a prediction and if it does not come true it is > false. But when the prediction of a theory comes true, it does not prove > that the theory is right. There is no guarantee that the next prediction > will come true. So if astrology is to qualify as a science it must lay down > a criterion of falsiability. > > Kochhar, who wrote the book Vedic People, says the astrology we have today > is not Vedic and hence there is no question of teaching Vedic astrology (as > planned by the University Grants Commission). "It is post-Varahamihira and > based on Siddhantic astronomy. Vedic astronomy did not have zodiacal signs," > says Kochhar. "Teaching astrology is different. You can certainly teach > astrology if you can teach Sanskrit." > > MEDICINE > A nose for news > The first known published account of plastic surgery in the west is on > Indian rhinoplasty > > In the war of 1792 Tipu Sultan's soldiers captured Kawasji (Cowasjee), a > Maratha cart driver in the British army, and cut off his nose and an arm. A > year later, a kumhara (potter) vaidya of Pune reconstructed Kawasji's nose > in the presence of two English doctors, Thomas Cruso and James Trindlay, of > the Bombay Presidency. > > An illustrated account of this operation,-'not uncommon in India and has > been practised for time immemorial'-appeared in the Madras Gazette; the > Gentleman's Magazine of London reproduced it in October 1794. The surgical > procedure closely corresponded to that mentioned in the ayurvedic text > Susruta Samhita (350 AD). > > Susruta Samhita is the oldest known work that clearly describes plastic > surgery of the nose, ear and lip. Manka, an Indian physician in Baghdad > during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809 AD), > translated Susruta Samhita into Arabic under the title of Kitab-Shawasoon > al-Hind of Susrud. Persian physician al-Razi (860-925 AD) quotes Sasrad as > an authority on surgery. > > The surgical procedure of Kawasji's operation closely corresponded to that > mentioned in the ayurvedic text Susruta Samhita. (above) the illustrated > account of Kawasji's operation as it appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine of > London in October 1794 > > Susruta Samhita enumerates eight branches of medical knowledge as surgery; > treatment of diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, throat and teeth; > therapeutics; psychiatry and psychotherapy; paediatrics; toxicology and > treatment of poisoning; treatment for longevity and rejuvenation; and > treatment for increasing virility. But the text is known more for its > extensive chapter on surgery. It mentions 300 different operations employing > 42 surgical processes and 121 surgical instruments. These include ophthalmic > couching, cutting for stone, removal of arrows and splinters, suturing, > examination of dead bodies for anatomy and Caesarean sections. > > Surgery, however, fell into disuse in later times. "According to Susruta," > says P.C. Ray in his History of Hindu Chemistry, "the dissection of dead > bodies is a sine qua non to the student of surgery and this high authority > lays particular stress on knowledge gained from experiment and observation. > But Manu [law giver] would have none of it. The very touch of a corpse, > according to Manu, is enough to bring contamination of the sacred person of > Brahmin. Thus we find that shortly after the time of Vagbhata, the handling > of a lancet was discouraged and anatomy and surgery fell into disuse and > became to all intents and purposes lost sciences to the Hindus." > > Whatever be the reasons, the Susruta school did not flourish as much as the > Charaka school of therapeutic medicine in India. Chinese sources place > Charaka at the court of the 1st century Scythian king Kanishka. Arabs knew > him as a medical author whose work was translated from Sanskrit to Persian > to Arabic. > > The ayurvedic texts contain a vast accumulation of medical and even general > information such as the influence of environmental factors. For instance, a > chapter in Charaka Samhita 'Janapadodhwamsaniyam', is on epidemics and > pollution of air, water and land pollution. There is also a meticulous code > of professional ethics and social conduct for the medical profession, much > like the Hippocratic oath. > > While Susruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita form the cornerstones of ayurveda, > there are a number of other classical texts such as the Ashtangahridaya > Samhita of Vagbhata, which is popular in the south. The tradition of > ayurveda by Ashtavaidya Brahmins is live in Kerala. > > Ayurveda has its theoretical foundation in the doctrine of three bodily > humours-wind, bile and phlegm (vata, pitta, kapha). "It takes into > consideration the whole human being, and not just the phenotype. The > tridosha concept takes into consideration the phenotype, genotype and the > mind in classifying patients," says Prof. B.M. Hegde, vice-chancellor of the > Manipal Academy of Higher Education and a medical doctor. "Consequently, > treatment differs even for the same disease from individual to individual, > based on the constitutional types." > > Ayurvedic medicines are mainly herbal, and therapies include enemas, > massage, ointments, douches and surgery. From the end of the first > millennium, metallic compounds also came into medical use. > > Experts say that many 'modern concepts' were already known in ayurveda. > Susruta describes pathogenic microorganisms to be the cause of certain forms > of fever, pulmonary consumption, leprosy, smallpox and tuberculosis. > Charaka's description of invisible krimis (corpuscles) in blood, that they > are unicellular structures, circular or disc-like, without feet and of > coppery colour, would marvel even modern accounts. "Even the authentication > of Edward Jenner's vaccination came from ayurvedic vaccination's proven > track record," says Hegde. > > English physician Jenner is credited with discovering vaccination on a > scientific basis with his studies on small pox in 1796. A group of Fellows > of the Royal Society had earlier studied the method of inoculating people in > India and submitted its report in the 1760s. Dr J.Z. Holwell, one of the > members who was in the Bengal Province for more than ten years to study the > Indian vaccination method, lectured at the London Royal College of > Physicians in 1767 "that nearly the same salutary method, now so happily > pursued in England,... has the sanction of remotest antiquity (in India), > illustrating the propriety of present practice". > > The description of the vaccination methods prevalent then, based on > Holwell's lecture, is mentioned in a recent book Indian Science and > Technology in the Eighteenth Century by Prof. Dharmapal, brought out by > Academy of Gandhian Studies in Hyderabad. Holwell talks about a group of > vaccinators inoculating people from home to home with pus used from the > inoculated pustule of the previous year. Following the inoculation the > person had to observe a strict regimen of diet and treatment for the mild > eruptive fever that follows. > > > > > Root and trunk > Jivaka, physician of King Bimbisara, a contemporary of the Buddha, had > to undergo a practical examination in the final year of his studies at > Taxila. The teacher asked him to take a spade and seek round about a yojana > on every side of the university and bring the plant he saw which had no > medicinal properties. After long investigations, Jivaka came back saying he > did not find any plant which had no medicinal properties. The teacher was > satisfied and gave him the licence to practise as a physician. > > Botanical teaching was preparatory to medical studies in ancient days. > Kautilya's Arthasastra refers to Vrukshayurveda, a treatise on botany, > written in the pre-Buddhist period. The author of the book, Parasara, > compiled the treatise at the request of the sages assembled at a conference > to give an account of the herbs and plants beneficial to mankind. > > Veterinary sciences, though not treated in the text books of ayurveda, > focused elephants and horses on which the king possessed a monopoly. > Palakapya's Hasti Ayurveda is said to be the earliest book on veterinary > sciences. A work on horse medicine is also said to be translated into > Persian in the 14th century, another one in the 17th century and from that > into English in the next century. King Asoka's inscriptions also mention > animal hospitals in his empire. > > > > The finest example of early Indian temple architecture is the Lingaraja > temple at Bhubaneswar (above), built as a series of four halls: a hall of > offering, a dancing hall, an assembly hall and a sanctuary > > ARCHITECTURE > Buildings with a genetic code > You can clone the whole from a part of the structure > The science of building in India is analogous to genetics. Just as the DNA, > which contains hereditary information on cell life, every element of a > building contains a dimensional code that will speak of the whole structure. > > "It is possible to extrapolate the whole from the dimension and position of > any relic," says Balagopal T.S. Prabhu, professor of architecture at the > Regional Engineering College in Calicut, "the way the Harappans would have > rebuilt their cities from the ruins of the old." > > The cities of the Harappan civilisation were laid out according to > well-established precepts of town planning. Clearly, surveying instruments > were used to fix cardinal points. (right) a view of Lothal > > Mohenjo-daro, notes Stuart Piggott in Prehistoric India, passed through nine > phases of rebuilding, often interrupted by disastrous river floods. But from > the top to the bottom of the accumulated layer of debris no change can be > detected in the content of the material culture. > > The cities of the Harappan civilisation (the late phase of which was from > 2000 BC-1500 BC) were laid out according to well-established precepts of > town planning. Clearly, surveying instruments were used to fix cardinal > points. > > Archaeologist S.R. Rao mentions an instrument made of shell in Lothal. "It > is a hollow cylinder with four slits on each of the two edges. When placed > on a horizontal board it can be used almost as a compass in plane table > survey for fixing the position of a distant object by viewing it through the > slits in the margins.... Obviously, this instrument must have been used in > land survey and for fixing alignment of streets and houses." > > Each city had two major sectors: the citadel meant for the elite, and the > lower town, comprising residences and commercial establishments, for the > common men. The houses had open courtyards, furnished toilets, kitchens and > living rooms, and drainage system from the bathrooms to the main sewer in > the street. The style of construction is said to be bare and utilitarian. > Sun-dried and burnt brick was the common material for walls and floors and > roofings were in timber. > > "We say that Harappans were utilitarian because of the grid pattern," says > Prof. K.T. Ravindran, head of the department of urban design at School of > Planning and Architecture, Delhi. "This existed all over the world in > different times-in the labour camps for building pyramids, in the Agoras of > Greece, the Bastic cities of France. It also exists in contemporary cities > like Chandigarh designed to build democratic accessibility to everyone, and > in Jaipur or lower Tirupathi. Everything had a meaning. It depends on the > value frame of the society, which is expressed in their structures." > > The technological innovation of the Harappans, if not their worldview, is > evident from the citadels, raised on a mud-brick and clay platform to > prevent floods, and the special structures at the citadels (the fire altars > at Kalibangan, the Great Bath, granary and pillared hall at Mohenjo-daro, > rangashala or stadium at Dholavira, and warehouse and dockyard at Lothal). > > The Great Bath in Mohenjo-daro, 12x7 metres and 2.5 metres deep, is an > engineering marvel, says historian Abraham Eraly in Gem in the Lotus. "It > was water-tight by lining its floor and two sides with two layers of > close-fitting, carefully trimmed baked bricks set on gypsum mortar, with a > 2.5-centimetre-thick skin of bitumen sealer between the layers. A high, > corbelled conduit was provided at its north-western corner to drain the > tank." > > Planned cities, with fortification walls, properly aligned houses, drainage, > water supply and sanitary provisions, are found again from the 6th century > BC to the early centuries of the Christian era. Greek writers Megasthenes > and Strabo have given detailed descriptions of Mauryan capital Pataliputra, > built a year before the death of the Buddha, and its palace which was > "splendid as that in the capital of Iran". Other cities that emerged in this > period are Kausambi, Taxila, Vaisali and Ujjain. > > The rise of Buddhism under the patronage of Asoka (3rd century BC) brought > about changes in socio-cultural values and their expression in construction. > Apart from the stone pillars, one of which at Sarnath became the national > emblem of India, the principal contributions of the Asokan school were > stupas. The most famous of them, the Sanchi stupa in Madhya Pradesh, is > basically a dome, surmounted by a finial or harmika, with a circumambulatory > path around it, delineated by a railing or vedika. The stupas containing > relics of the Buddha were the first Buddhist shrines. > > Religious architecture came of age with the temples of the Gupta Age > (350-650 AD). Each constituent of the plan and the elevation had a certain > proportion to all other parts of the structure. > > The rudiments of this framework for construction and design can be seen in > the Puranas, Shastras, Samhitas and Buddhist classics. Matsya Purana, for > instance, has much on architecture and sculpture. Natya Sastra has a chapter > on the design and construction of theatres while Padma Samhita covers > planning and construction of temples. > > But the earliest text codifying rules for art, sculpture and architecture is > the early 6th century AD text Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira. Mayamata and > Manasara are early texts which are held as standard reference works on > Vastuvidya-the science of building. > > The fountainhead of Vastushastra is the Sthapatyaveda, annexure of > Atharvaveda. "At the level of Sthapatyaveda it is only at a conceptual > level," says Prabhu. "Certain concepts can be applied to any situation, be > it cattlesheds or huts, bridges or dams, palaces or temples." > > Planning, design, construction and maintenance are the four aspects of the > science of building. Sthalam (topographical features), jalam (hydrological > characteristics) and vriksham (biotic features) are considered in the > planning stage. "The basic philosophy is that a building is also a living > thing," says Kanippayyur Krishnan Nambudiripad, a traditional exponent of > Vastuvidya in Kerala. The philosophical underpinning of the > inter-relatedness of all things in the universe is expressed best in the > form of a temple. Several parts of the temple are thus likened to the body > of a man. For instance, the tapering roof above the sanctuary or vimana is > called the shikhara (head). Inside the vimana is the garbha-griha (the > womb-house). > > The finest example of an early north Indian temple architecture is the > Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar, built as a series of four halls: a hall of > offering, a dancing hall, an assembly hall and a sanctuary. The sanctuary is > crowned by a great tower (shikhara) curving inwards terminated by an amalaka > disc and a finial (kalas). The other three elements of the temple are also > roofed with towers of smaller size. > > The southern style of temple architecture became quite distinct with the > Pallava school (the shore temples of Mamallapuram, 7th century AD) and the > Chola school (Brihadeswara temple at Thanjavur, 10th century). The Minakshi > temple at Madurai, Ranganatha temple at Srirangam and the Vittala temple at > Hampi are a few other examples architectural excellence. > > PHYSICS > > Mind over matter > Ancient Indian philosophy has much in common with modern physics > > The first Indian who formulated ideas about the atom as the indivisible > particle of matter in a systematic manner was 6th century BC philosopher > Kanada. Katyayana, a contemporary of the Buddha, put forward ideas about the > atomic constitution of the material world. > > The Greek theories of matter closely corresponded to the Indian theories. > Leucippus and his pupil Democritus (460-370 BC) declared that atoms are the > primary building blocks of the world. Earlier, philosophers believed that > one or all of the four elements-earth, water, fire and air-were the > primordial substance of which the world is made. > > In India, the Rigveda Samhita expresses the first monistic principle as > water. The doctrine of the five elements took place in the Upanishads. > Though there have been suggestions of the "historical possibility of the > Grecian world of thought being influenced by India through the medium of > Persia", scholars like Max Mueller and Paul Dessen say the developments were > independent. > > Kanada's Vaisesika Sutra is the main literary source that deals with a > number of physical concepts like space, time and atomism. These were later > developed by the Vaisesika and the Nyaya schools. By 10th century AD the two > schools began to be known as Nyaya-Vaisesika. > > In the Vaisesika system of philosophy, matter is described in its elementary > and composite forms, the gunas (qualities) of the fundamental kanas (quanta) > and the dravya (primary substance) of the universe. > > The dravyas-earth (prithvi), water (jalam), air (vayu), substratum (akasa), > time (kalam), space (dik), mind (manas), radiation (tejas) and self > (atma)-are the raw material for world-building. The first four are divisible > and their elementary units are the paramanu or kana (quanta). These four > dravyas together with akasa constitute the panchabhuta. > "The Vaisesika system is a pluralistic presentation consisting of the > material and the non-material, the finite and the ubiquitous, and the > conscious self as well as mind in an ingenious way," says B.V. Subbarayappa > in 'The Physical World: Views and Concepts', forming a part of A Concise > History of Science in India brought out by the Indian National Science > Academy. > > "During the development of Quantum Theory, it became apparent to many > scientists that the results of the experiments were making many suggestions > about the true nature of our universe," observes physicist E.C.G. Sudarshan. > "The quantum reality of the microworld is inextricably entangled with the > organisation of the macroworld. In other words, the part has no meaning > except in relation to the whole." > > In Hindu tradition, the entire universe is said to be a manifestation of the > paramatma or supreme soul. Hence, everything contained within the universe > is also a manifestation of this paramatma. The ancient medical treatise > Charaka Samhita also upholds this view. "Physics of lepto-quarks [the > infinitesimally small subatomic particles] and our Upanishads have realised > the unitary nature of all things on this planet," says Prof. B.M. Hegde, > vice-chancellor of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. "The mind is a > subatomic quantum state. Human mind or otherwise called the human > consciousness, is a quantum level thinking. Just as the seed has the tree in > it, the zygote, that little speck of protein that man is made of the day he > is conceived inside his mother's womb, knows all about every other living > thing in the universe." > > Hegde draws parallels to the four levels of consciousness in modern > science-the waking, the dreaming, the sleeping and the quantum > consciousness-to shivam, sundaram, advaitam and chaturtham. > > "I do not think physics is as yet able to fully answer the question, 'what > is consciousness?' But I have great doubts that beautiful old poetic > assertions do this either," says physicist Yash Pal, disagreeing with people > who use physics terminology to postulate that we had the answer to these > questions in our ancient texts. Yash Pal says these assertions are full of > mumbo-jumbo, with much appeal to the supra-natural where the laws applicable > to the physical universe should have no meaning. "A better understanding of > consciousness would ultimately emerge from neurobiology and psychology. Then > only it would be appropriate to quote wise and beautiful generalities from > the past. At the moment they do not explain much but only assert," he says. > "But those who proceed on the basis of 'faith' alone are hard to convince." > > Flights of fancy? > In the early 70s, G.R. Josyer of the International Academy of Sanskrit > in Mysore brought out the English translation of a Sanskrit work, Vymanika > Shastra. It describes different types of aircraft with drawings, metals used > for their production, mirrors and their use in wars and varieties of > machines and yantras. > > The book was supposed to be only a fortieth of the Yantra Sarwasa by > Sage Bharadwaja. A Hindi translation of the book titled Brihad Vimana > Shastra by Shri Brahmamuni Parivrajaka was published earlier in 1959. This, > however, did not have mechanical drawings. > > Brihad Vimana Shastra was written on the basis of two manuscripts-one > at Rajakiya Sanskrit Library, Baroda, in 1944 and another with a signature > of Go Venkatachala Sharma with dates 19.8. 1919 and 3.6. 1919 inscribed on > it. > > Josyer, in his introduction to Vymanika Shastra, states that Pandit > Subbaraya Shastry of Anekal dictated the verses to G.V. Sharma. Shastry > apparently was endowed with mystical powers. An Air Commodore called Goel > procured the manuscript for the Baroda University Library in 1944 and it was > featured at an exhibition of rare manuscripts in Mysore in 1951. Josyer > bought it and brought out a translation. He mentioned in his introduction > that the work was several thousand years old. > > Prof. H.S. Mukunda and his team from the departments of aeronautical > and mechanical engineering of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore > traced Shastry's adopted son. They learnt that Shastry had also written his > autobiography, apparently inspired by the famous scientist J.C. Bose. > > Shastry's early life was full of misery. He was born in Hosur and > having lost his parents, he had to take care of his siblings. Circumstances > forced them apart and a fatal illness almost crippled him. Starvation drove > him to Kolar, where a great saint cured him of his illness. Initiating him > to spirituality, the saint revealed to him the secrets of shastras like > Vimana Shastra, Bhautik Kala Nidhi and Jala Tantra. > > Shastry made several trips to Mumbai and dictated many parts of Vimana > Sastra there. He got the drawings of the aircraft made by a draughtsman > called Ellappa between 1900 and 1919. Shastry, who had no formal schooling, > learnt to read and write Telugu and Kannada only after meeting his guru. > > Mukunda and team, who published their report in 1974, found that the > author showed a complete lack of understanding of the dynamics of flight. > The aircraft were poor concoctions rather than expressions of anything real. > > The drawings of Shakuna Vimana, in the shape of a bird, show parts > like a cylinder, piston worm gear and pumps which seem entirely beyond the > 18th century. As for the function of the wings and tail, the Sanskrit text > gives great importance to the tail portion for the generation of lift > whereas it is the wings that contribute to the lift and the tail to its > controllability. > > The Sundar Vimana, described in detail, has no basic principles of > operation mentioned. And whatever has been inferred from the drawings and > the descriptions of the machinery defies the laws of Newton. > > The Rukma Vimana was the only one which made sense. It had long > vertical ducts with fans on the top to suck air from the top and send it > down the ducts, generating a lift in the process. The Tripura Vimana is > supposed to fly in air and move over water and land. When moving over water > the wheels are to be retracted. > > The scientists concluded that none of the planes had properties or > capabilities of being flown. > > > > Scientist's soapbox > Gopalakrishnan captivates audiences with ancient nuggets > > After delivering thousands of lectures on Indian heritage since the age of > 18 and more than 1,800 of them in the last five years (a lecture a day!), N. > Gopalakrishnan is passionate for more. The 45-year-old scientist at the > regional centre of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in > Thiruvananthapuram considers it his mission to separate the chaff from the > grain in people's minds. The winnow he uses is science. > > Words of wisdom: Gopalakrishnan > > "As a scientist who could go through ancient Indian literature > systematically," says Gopalakrishnan, "I found it my duty to create a true > understanding of our scientific contributions and spirituality." In 1998, he > and a few like-minded friends founded a trust, The Indian Institute of > Scientific Heritage, to conduct seminars, lectures, and prepare audio > cassettes, brochures and books to spread integrated scientific knowledge. > > Gopalakrishnan combines his background in modern science and knowledge in > Sanskrit to deliver lectures. His interest in Sanskrit stems from his study > of the Vedas since childhood, which was also a period of deprivation for > him. In college, he struggled to pay the fees, worked as a waiter, but did > his postgraduation in pharmacy in 1978 and in chemistry the next year. > Later, he took Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Chemical > Technology in Hyderabad and post-doctoral from University of Alberta, > Edmonton, Canada. > > "What scientists lack is the Sanskrit background," says Gopalakrishnan, who > has six patents in biochemistry to his credit. "Sanskrit scholars and > mathematicians together can interpret the remaining 350 theorems of > Madhvacharya which no one has interpreted till now." Bringing scientists and > Sanskrit scholars to tap the hidden knowledge in other ancient texts, he > feels, will take India ahead because the success of liberalisation hinges > not on the availability of technology but on the availability of an idea. > > Sanskrit is also the best to minimise complication in communication. The > Aryabhatiya number system has ghyu grh to depict 1578349500, the terrestrial > days or the total number of revolutions in a mahayuga. This is particularly > useful in theoretical physics where high velocities are involved in > calculations. According to him, the roots of Sanskrit words will also help > us grasp ideas better. For instance, hridayam (heart) is made of hri meaning > to accept and da meaning to give and ayam which means to circulate. This > explains the functioning of the heart. > > Gopalakrishnan uses this knowledge of Sanskrit to replace the language of > the theologian with that of a scientist. There is an unusual coincidence of > the terms Milky Way and the Ksheerapatham, he says. The coiled shape of the > galaxy and Vishnu's serpent with five hoods are a symbolic representation of > the conscious self within the five elements. "The word used in the texts is > sankalpam (concept)," he says. "There is nothing spiritual about it." > > > OPINION > The doublespeak of Vedic science > > By Meera Nanda > > The leading Hindutva ideas-men go around calling themselves "intellectual > Kshatriyas". But Kshatriyas were only supposed to defend dharma as a way of > life. Why, then, are our Kshatriyas so bent upon defending dharma as > science? Why must they insist upon declaring astrology, and the entire Vedic > tradition, 'scientific'? > > But first, get over whatever mental blocks you may have against this > oxymoron called 'Vedic science,' which pairs the archaic, mystical and > unfalsifiable worldview of the Vedas with science. > > Instead, get used to the doublespeak of 'Vedic science'. Be prepared for a > flood of books, TV-shows and even new computer programs extolling the > virtues of Hindu sciences. After all, big money is behind it: tax-payers' > rupees and large grants from private foundations are pouring into "research > centres" dedicated to showing the scientificity of Hindu scriptures. > > Everything Vedic-from yagnas to the gods of all things, to reincarnation, > karma and parapsychology-will make a claim for the status of 'science'. And > everything scientific-from the knowledge of quantum physics to the laws of > molecular biology and ecology-will be declared to be already there in the > Vedas. Modern science will be treated as a western corruption of the > non-dualist Vedic sciences which can synthesise science with god, facts with > values. > > We are heading toward a schizophrenic national culture in which the > technological products of modern science will be eagerly embraced, but the > secular culture which science was supposed to help create will be > strenuously denied. Symptoms of such schizophrenia are already evident: The > nuclear bomb tests in 1998 were justified and packaged in dharmic terms. > Hindu ideologues celebrated the bomb by invoking gods and goddesses > symbolising shakti and vigyan. > > This is how the secularist dream ends: with nuclear bombs in the silos, and > the Vedas in the schools; with satellites in space, and horoscopes in our > lives down here on earth. This secularist nightmare is Hindutva's > dream-come-true. From Bankim Chandra to Vivekananda to today's Sangh > parivar, the neo-Hindus have dreamt of uniting the industry and technology > of the west with the dharma of India. They have dreamt of a "Hindu > modernity" in which technology serves to glorify India's "natural" > spirituality. > > If it is given the cultural authority as a superior way of knowing, modern > science has the potential to demystify the hallowed truths of Hinduism > itself, to say nothing of the countless miracles and superstitions that are > a part of everyday life of average Indians. It is thus imperative for > Hindutva that science remains limited to technological gizmos, and does not > spill over into the larger culture. > > Hindutva is in the process of creating a myth of "Vedic science" which can > co-opt and absorb modern science into Hindu traditions by declaring these > traditions to be scientific. Hindutva ideologues argue that just as modern > "western science" is scientific from a Judeo-Christian perspective, Hindu > traditions of astrology, yagnas, ayurveda, Vastu Shastra, Hindu ecology, > Hindu meteorology, etc., are scientific from a Hindu perspective. 'Vedic > science' is declared to be ahead of modern science, as it treats all > entities in an integrated whole-never mind that many of its "entities" > (atman, the gunas, "hot" and "cold" substances) and "subtle forces" (of > mantras, meditation, planets, karma) can't even be defined with any > precision, let alone measured and tested empirically with appropriate > controls. But "mere" definitions, measurements and controlled tests are > declared to be western. Hindu sciences use "their own" methodology of > meditation and direct realisation. > > So now we know why the saffron Kshatriyas are so keen on defending the Vedic > lore as science. This is their way of taming what threatens Hinduism the > most, i.e. modern science. Hinduism has always protected itself from the new > and the alien by turning it into an inferior aspect of itself, quietly > metabolising it until it is absorbed into the existing belief structure. > Turning modern science into just a part of Hindu wisdom is merely a > continuation of this classic Hindu tradition of self-defence and > self-perpetuation. > > But there remains a philosophical problem. How to convince the sceptics that > the Vedas are as scientific-and indeed, even more "objective" and even more > "advanced"-than modern science? Our Kshatriyas need some arguments to back > up their bold assertions. These arguments have been obligingly supplied by > the secular, academic critics of modern science and the Enlightenment. The > leading trend in sociology of science in the last couple of decades has been > to deny that modern science is a distinctive body of knowledge, which has > succeeded in attaining higher standards of objectivity and reliability than > other, pre-modern, magical-religious ways of understanding nature. > > Hindutva is in the process of creating a myth of 'Vedic science' which can > co-opt and absorb modern science into Hindu traditions by declaring these > traditions to be scientific. > > Abusing the ideas of Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend, two well-known > scholars of science, radical critics have claimed that non-western, > traditional ways of knowing are as scientific in their social context as > modern science is in the western context. These ideas have found great > favour among prominent left-oriented critics of the west in India associated > with a host of populist "alternative science" and "alternative development" > movements, with Gandhian, environmentalist, and even some Marxist elements. > > All these groups believe that the problems of modernisation in India stem > from the very nature of modern scientific ways of thinking about nature and > human beings. They see the content of science-and not just its > application-to be western or Orientalist, and believe that real > decolonisation will only come with development of indigenous sciences. > > Take for example the argument for scientificity of astrology. It is the > neo-Gandhian Ashis Nandy and his followers who have long argued that > astrology can't be condemned as a superstition. On the strength of the > argument that all "ethno-sciences" are equal, and that modern science has no > greater claim to objectivity, Nandy has argued that modern science is the > myth of the imperialist west, and astrology is the myth of the weak, who are > the victims of the west. If that is granted, Nandy argues, the weak should > have the right to challenge the "myth" of science. > > One finds a similar argument in the Hindutva literature. They criticise > scientists for being closed-minded and westernised for not allowing Hindu > science a chance to challenge the western idea of science, and for writing > off astrology without studying it! > > The more sophisticated Hindutva advocates, including US-based/returned > scientists like Subhash Kak, David Frawley and N.S. Rajaram, argue that the > conceptual categories and methods of science must be organically connected > to the rest of the culture of a society. On this account, different cultures > will have different idea of what is reasonable and true: thus, the > supernatural is declared to be real and true for Hindu science. This idea > that standards and methods of rationality differ with different cultures is > borrowed from the postmodernist critiques of science. > > Secular intellectuals and progressive social movements have for too long > decried it as a ploy of westernised elites. At a time when modern science > needed to establish its cultural authority so that it could set new norms > for public discourse and provide a more rational worldview, it remained > besieged from all sides. Ever since the scientific temper debate in early > 80s, which marked the beginning of the end of the Nehruvian consensus over > secularism and modernity, there have been few voices that have actively > challenged the many signs of unreason and arbitrary authority in our > society. > > (Meera Nanda is a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies at > Columbia University, New York.) | | query | chat | guest book | search-archive | home | to the > editor | > > _______ Get your free @ address at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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