This piece is dedicated to Krishnan Nandakumar, Karthik Kumaraswamy, Manikandan Narayanan, Rajsekhar Sastry, Madhusudan Natarajan and Karthik Chandran Krishnamurthy. They all know why...
It was before gravity! It was before Isaac Newton even considered science as an interest and much much before he would be regarded "Sir". It was the when he was a goofy young lad who spent all day dreaming...
One fine sunny day, he rose nice and early. He was excited! He had all day to dream. He stretched his arms, looked out the window and set his thoughts in motion (pun unintended) even as he got out of bed...
"I'll go for a walk today", he told himself and stepped out into the sun. It was a beautiful day indeed. The air was clear, the birds were chirping, you get the picture, don't you? He started treading on the gravel path...
Soon, he was whistling a tune, wishing people around and enjoying himself. No matter what he did, his thoughts never left him. He was wandering alright, but his mind wandered farther than one could imagine...
He passed some fields and then some factories. He climbed some hills and crossed some streams. He looked into the deep blue sky and thought what he alone could think. He thought of things beyond...
Noon came and his shadow shortened. He was not done dreaming but his legs were tired. "I'll rest a while", he said to himself and looked around for a place. In a field beside, he set his sight on a mighty apple tree...
He picked the shade, cleared out the leaves and sat himself on the ground. He wiped his sweat and took a deep breath as he looked around. All was quiet, for it was lunchtime, so he continued to dream in peace...
He felt the pang of hunger himself. Had he known he'd walk this far, he would have packed a lunch. He looked around but found nothing. "I'm in a tough spot. What do I do now?", he continued to think...
And then it happened! Something fell, he felt it hit him and rolled out in front of him. He stopped thinking and started smiling, for he was now staring at a fine, juicy red apple...
He picked up the fruit and cleaned it on his shirt. He bit into it and felt the juice hit his throat. In his sweet relish, he started dreaming again. Even as he munched, his mind was not there, wandering far somewhere...
His apple done, he licked his fingers. He was sated and starting to feel rested. "I'll stay a little longer", he said to himself as he stretched out his legs and started to close his eyes. To dream would now be easier...
He rose with a start! "Was I dreaming?", he thought. He didn't feel well and when he pulled himself up, he could quickly tell what was wrong. He stomach rumbled, he felt it grumble. Lo! it was nature's call...
"Oh my God!", he thought. "Home's too far, but I can't wait that long, now I've got a problem to solve"! He did'nt have to look around, he knew where was. "Oh! There's no place to go", he thought...
And then he had an idea! He looked to check if he was seen and once he sure there was no one around, he took a quick peek behind the apple tree. The pressure was building. Clearly, there was no time to think...
In all these days, in all his dreams, he had never dreamt that it would come to this. Not a moment more to lose, he made himself brave, picked himself up and disappeared behind the mighty old apple tree...
I don't know what happened after so I'll stop here. But whatever it was, I suspect, it must have been a real inspiration to what we know and tell in science today as "Newton's Laws of Motion"...
It was before gravity! It was before Isaac Newton even considered science as an interest and much much before he would be regarded "Sir". It was the when he was a goofy young lad who spent all day dreaming...
One fine sunny day, he rose nice and early. He was excited! He had all day to dream. He stretched his arms, looked out the window and set his thoughts in motion (pun unintended) even as he got out of bed...
"I'll go for a walk today", he told himself and stepped out into the sun. It was a beautiful day indeed. The air was clear, the birds were chirping, you get the picture, don't you? He started treading on the gravel path...
Soon, he was whistling a tune, wishing people around and enjoying himself. No matter what he did, his thoughts never left him. He was wandering alright, but his mind wandered farther than one could imagine...
He passed some fields and then some factories. He climbed some hills and crossed some streams. He looked into the deep blue sky and thought what he alone could think. He thought of things beyond...
Noon came and his shadow shortened. He was not done dreaming but his legs were tired. "I'll rest a while", he said to himself and looked around for a place. In a field beside, he set his sight on a mighty apple tree...
He picked the shade, cleared out the leaves and sat himself on the ground. He wiped his sweat and took a deep breath as he looked around. All was quiet, for it was lunchtime, so he continued to dream in peace...
He felt the pang of hunger himself. Had he known he'd walk this far, he would have packed a lunch. He looked around but found nothing. "I'm in a tough spot. What do I do now?", he continued to think...
And then it happened! Something fell, he felt it hit him and rolled out in front of him. He stopped thinking and started smiling, for he was now staring at a fine, juicy red apple...
He picked up the fruit and cleaned it on his shirt. He bit into it and felt the juice hit his throat. In his sweet relish, he started dreaming again. Even as he munched, his mind was not there, wandering far somewhere...
His apple done, he licked his fingers. He was sated and starting to feel rested. "I'll stay a little longer", he said to himself as he stretched out his legs and started to close his eyes. To dream would now be easier...
He rose with a start! "Was I dreaming?", he thought. He didn't feel well and when he pulled himself up, he could quickly tell what was wrong. He stomach rumbled, he felt it grumble. Lo! it was nature's call...
"Oh my God!", he thought. "Home's too far, but I can't wait that long, now I've got a problem to solve"! He did'nt have to look around, he knew where was. "Oh! There's no place to go", he thought...
And then he had an idea! He looked to check if he was seen and once he sure there was no one around, he took a quick peek behind the apple tree. The pressure was building. Clearly, there was no time to think...
In all these days, in all his dreams, he had never dreamt that it would come to this. Not a moment more to lose, he made himself brave, picked himself up and disappeared behind the mighty old apple tree...
I don't know what happened after so I'll stop here. But whatever it was, I suspect, it must have been a real inspiration to what we know and tell in science today as "Newton's Laws of Motion"...
