Imagination

When we imagine a particular state for us or others, we force the universe to turn its machinery towards accomplishing that desired state of things. Intelligence is important here because when we imagine, we have to imagine intelligently and in a very precise fashion:)❤ love all, respect all..

                                      CARL LOUIS SCHWENDLER: HISTORY OF A POLYMATH

I had recently visited Kolkata on wanderlust and tried to visit some important places of interest. Being an animal lover, I went to the zoo ie, the Zoological Garden , Alipore. Among mega charismatic fauna, I found pleasure in watching the larger felines such as the tiger, the leopard, the jaguar and the asiatic lion. But what I principally did not fail to notice was our sturdy and imposing colonial past which revealed itself in every nook and corner of this great zoo. I will draw attention towards one structure which is historically very significant to the establishment of this zoo. It is an obelisk which was erected in the memory of Carl Louis Schwendler. Schwendler, a German electrician and one of the first proponents of the Tungsten based incandescent light bulb, was the founder of this zoo. He worked in the Telegraph Department of British India and was also the pioneer in setting up of the telegraph system in India during the Raj. He was a member of Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Asiatic Society of Bengal still exists as a scholarly society founded on Jan. 15, 1784, by Sir William Jones, a British lawyer and Orientalist, to encourage Oriental studies. Schwendler, in his hey days, had extensively worked on the science of telegraphy and had authored the book titled, "On the General Theory of Duplex Telegraphy". In this book he had researched on the method of sending messages simultaneously along the same wire in opposite directions which was very new to the science of telegraphy during that time. This method was previously only successfully used by an American Telegrapher named Stearns on some of the American Telegraph lines. The greatest problem in setting up of telegraph lines in India was to decide on the best possible method available to calculate the resistance arrangements and the distribution of condensers required for any given line, overland or submerged. Schwendler's theory on Duplex telegraphy and his book came to the rescue of telegraphic engineers of that time. Schwendler's work principally helped in designing and installing submerged telegraph lines in India. He also worked on "Earth Currents" or "Lines", as he called them, and believed that their direction (drift) was from East to West in India and in Bengal. He held that the accurate measurement of the direction and source of the electromotive force producing them were a scientific necessity in setting up of the telegraphic system in India.  According to him, earth currents were produced by difference of potentials between two points of the earth with which the earth plates were in contact. He further mentioned in a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in 1874, that these earth currents reach their full magnitudes when magnetic storms occur which coincide with electromagnetic disturbance in the Sun's surface. During such magnetic storms the entire telegraphic communication process tended to break down as had been previously experienced during the autumn of 1849-50 and again in 1870 in The British Isles. Schwendler fully understood that in a country as large as India, such a situation would cause immense problems. So he recommended the then British Government of India to introduce a system of measurement of these currents. Thus two projects namely the "Porcupine" and "Challenger" were initiated by the British government for dredging the Indian seas and to procure sophisticated instruments for measuring Earth currents. But due to lack of administrative will the procurement of the required instruments was deplorably slow. Hence these projects perished in their infancy. While in India, he worked in several committees of finance, library, natural history and physical sciences of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. During this period, he and other prominent persons fully understood the need of establishing a "proper" zoo in Kolkata since as early as 1841, but this need only did finally materialize in 1873 when a sub-committee of the Society was formed exclusively for the purpose of discussing the prospects of establishing a zoo in Calcutta. Mr. Schwendler headed this committee, which composed of members of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the Bengal Agri-Horticultural Society. Finally in 1875, did the Zoological Gardens, Alipore finally get established after three decades of contemplation and debate.  Schwendler was an engineer but he also was an animal enthusiast which we infer from the large collection of animals that he owned in his menagerie. He convinced the then Indian Viceroy, Lord Thomas Northbrook, that instead of constructing large and expensive houses for animals in the Indian climate, simple sheds but surrounded by luxuriant vegetation was all that was required for animal husbandry, thus making the housing of animals both scientific and simple. An honorary managing committee of the zoo was formed in December 1875, headed by C. Buckland (he was the private secretary to the then lieutenant Governor, Sir Richard Temple) as honorary secretary. Mr. Schwendler and Dr. George King (superintendant of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens) were members. Schwendler's long experience and knowledge in exotic animal husbandry and handling helped the zoo attain laurels in the fields of zoo organization and animal husbandry in England, Australia and several European countries. When the zoo was established, the then Government of Bengal had promised to pay twenty thousand rupees a year as a grant for management of the zoo. However, during the period between July 1876 and July 1877, the grant stopped thus making the financial position of the zoo shaky. During this time Mr. Schwendler had to direct the Managing Committee's vision of the objectives of the zoo not only towards the already existing ones of research and education, but towards a new one that was of public entertainment in order to stabilize the zoo's financial condition. Thus revenue in the form of gate receipts (from tourists), boating and fishing in the great serpentine lake of the zoo accrued which strengthened its economic status. While all  members of the Zoo Managing Committee had specific roles given to them, Mr. Schwendler was given the duty of looking after the housing and comfort of the animals, especially the exotics, as his experience was mainly with animals exotic to India.    Carl Louis Schwendler donated his private collection of animals which consisted of 31 mammals and 57 birds to the zoo. In 1877, during its golden era, this zoo had 756 mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo successfully carried out captive breeding programs for lemurs, mongoose, short spined porcupine, agouti, tiger and leopard under his supervision. The vision of this zoo had changed from mere displaying of animals to maintaining sustained breeding groups of animals by proper study and analysis of their behavior and ecology. Thus the greatest shift in objective of this zoo was realized. Study of behavior of animals for their husbandry and educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation had gained precedence over the sheer unscientific display of fauna.  The point which I want to stress from this story is that it is really not compulsory whether one has a degree or any academic accolade in a particular field in order to serve that field. One only need have the bona fide interest in it. In fact developing true passion for a field has little to do with official degrees. Degrees only bind our imagination to a particular subject or area, whereas interest liberates us from such mundane restraints and drives us towards more intriguing pastures. Even research shows that people who are skilled in diverse fields or people having flair in multiple facets of the same field show a higher percentage of brain usage than others, for example people who speak multiple languages or people who play different musical instruments. There are numerous examples of famous persons such as Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Albert Schweitzer and Isaac Asimov who were prolific polymaths and went on to become shining examples in the history of mankind. I believe that we owe our sincerest gratitude towards Carl Louis Schwendler who was instrumental in establishing one of the oldest organizations devoted to the cause of wildlife research and conservation in India. His diligent efforts to stabilize the future of the zoo when it faced dire economic crisis is laudable. Till today, Zoological Gardens, Alipore continues to serve as a nodal centre for conservation breeding of the Manipur Brow Antlered Deer and Bhutan Grey Peacock Pheasant. The zoo functions under a society called “West Bengal Zoo Authority”. More work can be done if the “Central Zoo Authority” takes over the charge of management of this zoo.                      

Ever wondered why Shiva is sometimes represented as being androgynous??

The commonly known name by which Shiva is referred to as is "Mahadev", meaning "The Great God". The origin of this name is taught in the Mahabharata. It goes like this... the asuras had a boon bestowed upon by Brahma, that they should possess three castles which could be "destructible only by the deity who was able to overthrow them by a single arrow." Thus they became complacent and started being hateful of the other gods, who, in their distress went to Brahma who again conducts them to Mahadeva (ie Shiva).
           Now, Shiva tells them that he alone cannot destroy these castles, but that with the aid of half his strength, they themselves would be able to accomplish this feat. They answered that as they could not sustain half his strength, they proposed that he should undertake the work aided by half their strength. Mahadeva consented to this, and thus became stronger than all the gods, and was thenceforward referred to as "Mahadeva". And thus Shiva became superior to Brahma and Vishnu in the Puranas (from which this particular story is influenced).
           Now once when Lakshmi and Durga were sitting together in the presence of Shiva, Lakshmi contended that her husband Vishnu was greater than Shiva, because Shiva had once worshipped him. As they were conversing, Vishnu himself appeared, and, in order to convince his wife that he and Shiva were equal, morphed himself into a beautiful woman to lure Shiva. (according to the skanda purana). Shiva became excited and sought to embrace her. As Vishnu ran away, Shiva followed him and though Vishnu resumed his proper form, Shiva clasped him so tightly that their bodies became one and a name "Har-Hari", is given to the deities thus united. (This story has been taken from the book "Hindu Mythology" by W.J.Wilkins)











Now do not we see the ancient origins of Transexualism in our ancient Hindu texts? A wondrous thing to ponder that no other major religion of the world boasts of such openness towards sex, leave alone bohemian topics such as transexualism. Consider this for a moment, a person who can morph himself into the female of his own kind and attract males can severely hamper the random chances of sex of the true females of the species. This in its extreme frequency could even alter the reproductive rates of the species because all sex is not intended to produce offspring and if males could derive pleasure with transexuals, then the natality and also total population of the species would definitely be affected.

In toads (of the family Bufonidae), Bidder's organ are present which are located near the kidneys. Now the interesting part is that when scientists have experimentally castrated male toads (ie, removing the testicles), the Bidder's organ becomes active and starts forming the uterus, oviducts and finally the ovaries. Thus the male toad when castrated transforms into a fully functional female..now isn't that interesting?






In the Lady Amherst's Pheasant, I have witnessed the transformation of mature adult females into males. The first difference starts with the change in the coloration from a drab brown into the characteristic metallic green and red colors characteristic of the male. Here are a few videos I picked up from the internet which display the transformation process.

An Ecological Perspective On The Hindu Durga Puja

If we try and derive an analogy from the mythological slaying of Mahisasura by the goddess Durga from a standpoint of ecology, then we isolate two animals, the lion and the buffalo. The lion being Durga's faithful and the buffalo which the demon Mahisasura morphed himself into. The story of the victory of good over evil (if it is what all of us believe in!) as perceived from Durga killing the miscreant can be reduced to the lion predating on the buffalo, logically I sense. The lion is the resident of the more drier parts of the India where it hunts in prides to survive and the Indian wild buffalo stays in more wetter, tropical, water abundant regions of India.The distributions of the predator and prey do not match at present, although it may have matched in the past. The lion commonly hunts prey such as chital, sambar, nilgai but why has only the buffalo been
selected as the proper opponent of the lion as it neither was found in the regions where the lion was found and even if it did, it would probably not have been the commonest of the lion's prey . But in the mythological story, the lion has been shown to have taken on a much larger animal, the buffalo, which is larger, stronger but also heavier than the aforementioned prey. The reason could be to show us that both the combatants were equal in power and spirit. but why the buffalo? It could have been the elephant or the rhino too..couldn't it have been? Maybe because the Indian lion has also been observed to prey on domestic livestock too such as cows and buffaloes. Maybe because the wild buffalo was tamed by man, domesticated, fed selectively, bred selectively resulting in producing a tame but strong animal used primarily for human purposes such as tilling the soil, carrying burden, feed infants of man with fat and protein rich milk and for serving many other man oriented selfish goals. But the lion's pedigree followed the principle of Natural Selection (kill or be killed). So if we at all presume that the buffalo depicted in the mythological battle was a domestic one, then the entire scenario of a fair fight is gone! I mean, how could a tame buffalo be of any match with a wild snarling predator? The explanation which I managed to deduce is as follows..the fight is not between good and evil, it is between the wild and the tame, between the aggressive and the docile. The combat is between the one who still roams the wild and the one whose inherent strength has been corrupted by man's overzealous scientific endeavors.  The fight is between the one who is fearful and the one who is unafraid. Because as soon as we let fear inside our hearts, we tend to bow down before authority (whatever or whoever it is) and submit ourselves in front of their ill begotten whims in desire for the few rotten crumbs of processed nourishment which they might be willing to throw at us. While the unafraid one has nothing to fear, he eats what he gets naturally and stays hungry when it is unavailable. He does not have to beg to anyone for anything because at the core of this concept, he, the fearless one, is not afraid to die. While the one who is afraid will die many spiritual deaths before his actual, physical death.