SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

The starry showers that light up the night sky during Deepavali or other celebrations are a sight that has brought us joy since time immemorial. Whether in their use as firecrackers, or as missiles during wars, rockets have a history that dates back to the earliest days of human civilization. And even though we have references to similar missiles in India as far back as the age of the epics, scientists and historians trace the origin of rockets to another ancient civilisation, in China. Mysore Rockets used in a battle at Guntur in 1780. Pic: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov In a talk titled…

One of the unusual features of this year's Bird Race was the fact that seven teams out of 35 (that's one fifth!) wanted to go together, rathen than compete on their own. One team, Flamingo, had to drop out, and the other, Flowerpecker, started late..and went on to win the race. But here are teams...Black StorkFalconIbisRuffandSpotted Owletall together in the morning...We stayed together throughout the day, made sure as many of us as possible could see each bird.... had chai, breakfast, and lunch, enjoyed ourselves very much...and one of the teams still managed to get the third prize, and that's…

I am one of those innumerable people who have been driven to the end of their wits and made to split hairs attempting to book a ticket (under the Tatkal scheme) through the Indian Railways' website, popularly known as IRCTC. While making an unsuccessful attempt recently, waiting with nail biting anxiety, sitting at the edge of my seat, I was wondering why this website cannot be put to better use than for simply booking train tickets - which in any case has a success ratio of only one in a gazillion! I could think of only some of the uses…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

With his halo of white hair flying out behind him, India's famed "snake man" Rom Whitaker jogged on to the stage at Opus, a cafe on Palace Road, in the evening of 12th October. He held forth on King Cobras in front of a packed crowd for over an hour. Organized by the volunteer run, public science initiative Café Scientifique, the event called Radio Kings was the first in a monthly series aimed at dismantling the barriers between scientists and the public. Rom Whitaker at the Cafe Scientifique event. Pic: Janaki Lenin Based on the French café philosphique model, Café…

The second season of Mahindra's Spark the Rise begins on 17th September 2012. See the Spark The Rise journey video here. The Rise Blog said, "In order to re-ignite conversations and spread the word, we're conducting an exciting three-city tour of India." Three 'Be the Spark' Meet-Ups were held over the last three Saturdays in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Each meet had a different topic of discussion and some of the leading social entrepreneurs, change-makers and change-agents in each city were invited to be a part of panel and general discussions on the topic. Usha Rajagopalan from PNLIT was one of the panellists at the Bangalore meet and…

Governments may come and go. Land grabbers may be arrested and jailed. But the daylight robbery of auto drivers will still continue. In Chennai, you may have come across slightly different-coloured autos displaying the words ‘Tourists friendly’ and you may think these autos would charge you as per meter, or if not, reasonably. But these auto drivers are as bad or as good as others of their tribe. Of late I am shuttling between Chennai and Bangalore too often, so much so that I have become a frequent train traveller and can claim rebate in fare if the railway ministry…

The words 'Scientific Research Foundation' paints a picture of brightly lit, sterile environment filled with scientists in white overcoats doing important but inaccessible work. It doesn't seem like a place where people from outside the science community can be admitted. But the Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation stands out by making this very space accessible to lay people. Participants at the workshop. Pic: Anisha Nair The foundation was set up in BTM Layout in 1987 so that they can communicate with the people easily about their researches and findings and also keep in touch with the residents of Bangalore.The Vittal…

"Yeaah!! St Louis, here we come," chorused the NXTremers - a team of 6th and 7th graders - thumping their fists, huge grins on their beaming faces, as they struggled to keep their feet on the ground. They had just been declared the national level champions in the First Lego League (FLL) 2011 competition. Their next step will be the FLL World Festival in St Louis, Missouri, USA on April 25-28, where they will represent India.The young champions are a group of six friends studying in National Public School, Indiranagar - Aditya S M, Anuj Tambwekar, Arnav Mhaske, Chaitanya Sindagi,…

For two years now, Nagaraj Ananth, 43, a scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has being going to schools and colleges on Saturdays and introducing children to the fascinating world of satellites and space travel. With the aid of videos, he explains the functions and different kinds of satellites, famous astronauts of the world and concepts related to space travel. A resident of JP Nagar, Ananth started a science club called ‘Galileo Science Club’. Nagaraj Ananth during a session at Christ School, off Bannerghatta Road. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. Ananth, a diploma holder in electronics and communication and a scientist…