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The Reality of (Dooms-Day) December 21-12-2012. by Rohit Sharma

First and foremost, the Sun has a natural cycle with a period of approximately 11 years. During the lifetime of each cycle, the magnetic field lines of the Sun are dragged around the solar body by differential rotation at the solar equator. This means that the equator is spinning faster than the magnetic poles. As this continues, solar plasma drags the magnetic field lines around the Sun, causing stress and a build up of energy (an illustration of this is pictured). As magnetic energy increases, kinks in the magnetic flux form, forcing them to the surface. These kinks are known as coronal loops which become more numerous during periods of high solar activity.This is where the sunspots come in. As coronal loops continue to pop up over the surface, sunspots appear too, often located at the loop footpoints. Coronal loops have the effect of pushing the hotter surface layers of the Sun (the photosphere and chromosphere) aside, exposing the cooler convection zone (the reasons why the solar surface and atmosphere is hotter than the solar interior is down to the coronal heating phenomenon). As magnetic energy builds up, we can expect more and more magnetic flux to be forced together. This is when a phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection occurs.Reconnection is the trigger for solar flares of various sizes. As previously reported, solar flares from “nanoflares” to “X-class flares” are very energetic events. Granted, the largest flares my generate enough energy for 100 billion atomic explosions, but don’t let this huge figure concern you. For a start, this flare occurs in the low corona, right near the solar surface. That’s nearly 100 million miles away (1AU). The Earth is nowhere close to the blast.As the solar magnetic field lines release a huge amount of energy, solar plasma is accelerated and confined within the magnetic environment (solar plasma is superheated particles like protons, electrons and some light elements such as helium nuclei). As the plasma particles interact, X-rays may be generated if the conditions are right and bremsstrahlung is possible. (Bremsstrahlung occurs when charged particles interact, resulting in X-ray emission.) This may create an X-ray flare.

The driver was taking me from mumbai airport into the pune city. As we chatted on theway , it came out that he was deeply worried. He had a wife and child, and a new baby on the way – but what was the use of living, he cried, if the world would end in 2012 as predicted by the Mayan prophecies, when his new baby would be just four years old.Prophecies about the end of the world (or at the very least, civilisation as we know it) have been around forever. There was a flurry of them around 2000 AD, and another bunch for 5 May 2005, when all the planets were supposed to line up. (By the way, they didn’t line up and yep, we’re still here.)The Mayan civilisation covered the skinny bit of the Americas between North and South America, reaching from the southern states of Mexico down to western Honduras. Its Classic Period was from 250 to 900 AD, so their best years were behind them by the time of the Spanish invasion.At their peak, the Mayans had the only mature written language ever found in the Americas, spectacular and densely populated cities, and very sophisticated systems of mathematics, astronomy and calendars.They were marvelous astronomers, showing what could be done with the naked eye. Their measurements of the lunar month, the period of Venus and the year were more accurate than those of the Ancient Greeks.Which brings us to the calendar that predicts the end of the world in 2012.The Mayans had many calendars, because they saw ‘time’ as a meshing of sacred or spiritual cycles. So while our Gregorian calendar organises days for social, administrative and commercial purposes, the Mayan calendars added a religious element. For example, each day had a patron spirit, and so could be good for travel, but bad for business.One of their several calendars was called the Long Count. It was set up around 355 BCE, and had as its chosen starting date 0.0.0.0.0, which corresponds to 11 August 3114 BCE. And on 21 December 2012, the Mayan Long Count calendar will read 13.0.0.0.0.Now here’s how it works. Our numbering system is based on 10. But the Mayans had a counting system based on 20, so most of the ’slots’ in their calendar had 20 potential numbers (0 to 19). The calendar read a little like the odometer in your car’s speedo (which run from 0 to 9). The extreme right slot (of five slots) would count through the days, and when it got to 19 days (0.0.0.0.19) would reset to zero, and the next slot across to the left would increase by one (to 0.0.0.1.0).So 0.0.0.0.1 was one day, and 0.0.0.1.0 was 20 days. Then 0.0.1.0.0 was about one year, 0.1.0.0.0 was about 20 years and with 1.0.0.0.0, you’ve clocked up about 400 years. And on 21 December 2012, the Mayan Long Count calendar will read 13.0.0.0.0.By the way, the time between 0.0.0.0.0 and 13.0.0.0.0 is about 5126 years. Now some Mayan archaeo-astronomers reckon that the calendar should reset back to zero and start again. But others disagree and say it should continue to 20, and then reset again.We don’t have enough information to know who is correct – but if it does go up to 20, then this completely destroys the End of Days Conspiracy Theory, as far as the year 2012 is concerned. But let’s stick to the 13 Conspiracy for the time being.The claims for 21 December 2012 cover a lot of ground. They range from ‘nuclear holocaust’ to ‘Harmonic Convergence of cosmic energy flowing through the earth, cleansing it and raising it to a higher level of vibration’, and along the way they include ‘the death of two-thirds of humanity’ and ‘the north and south poles will split’ – you get the picture. But there are two problems with this.

First, when a calendar comes to the end of a cycle, it just rolls over into the next cycle. In our Western society, every year 31 December is followed, not by the End of the World, but by 1 January. So 13.0.0.0.0 in the Mayan calendar will be followed by 0.0.0.0.1 – or good-ol’ 22 December 2012, with only a few shopping days left to Christmas.

And the second problem is that it is always remarkably difficult to make predictions, especially about the future, and things that haven’t happened yet.

Apparently, on December 21st 2012, our planet will experience a powerful event. This time we’re not talking about Planet X, Nibiru or a “killer” solar flare, this event will originate deep within the core of our planet, forcing a catastrophic change in our protective magnetic field. Not only will we notice a rapid reduction in magnetic field strength, we’ll also see the magnetic poles rapidly reverse polarity (i.e. the north magnetic pole will be located over the South Pole and vice versa). So what does this mean to us? If we are to believe the doomsayers, we’ll be exposed to the vast quantities of radiation blasting from the Sun; with a reversing magnetic field comes a weakening in the Earth’s ability to deflect cosmic rays. Our armada of communication and military satellites will drop from orbit, adding to the chaos on the ground. There will be social unrest, warfare, famine and economic collapse. Without GPS, our airliners will also plough into the ground…Using the Mayan Prophecy as an excuse to create new and explosive ways in which our planet may be destroyed, 2012 doomsayers use the geomagnetic shift theory as if it is set in stone. Simply because scientists have said that it might happen within the next millennium appears to be proof enough that it will happen in four years time. Alas, although this theory has some scientific backing, there is no way that anyone can predict when geomagnetic reversal might happen to the nearest day or to the nearest million years…

Firstly, let’s differentiate between geomagnetic reversal and polar shift. Geomagnetic reversal is the change in the magnetic field of the Earth, where the magnetic north pole shifts to the South Polar Region and the south magnetic pole shifts to the North Polar Region. Once this process is complete, our compasses would point toward Antarctica, rather than northern Canada. Polar shift is considered to be a less likely event that occurs a few times in the evolutionary timescale of the Solar System. There are a couple of examples of planets that have suffered a catastrophic polar shift, including Venus (which rotates in an opposite direction to all the other planets, therefore it was flipped upside down by some huge event, such as a planetary collision) and Uranus (which rotates on its side, having been knocked off-axis by an impact, or some gravitational effect caused by Jupiter and Saturn). Many authors (including the doomsayers themselves) often cite both geomagnetic reversal and polar shift as being one of the same thing. This isn’t the case.

So, on with geomagnetic reversal…

How often does it happen?

The Earths interior

The reasons behind the reversal of the magnetic poles is poorly understood, but it is all down to the internal dynamics of Planet Earth. As our planet spins, the molten iron in the core flows freely, forcing free electrons to flow with it. This convective motion of charged particles sets up a magnetic field which bases its poles in the North and South Polar Regions (a dipole). This is known as the dynamo effect. The resulting magnetic field approximates a bar magnet, allowing the field to envelop our planet.

This magnetic field passes through the core to the crust and pushes into space as the Earth’s magnetosphere, a protective bubble constantly being buffeted by the solar wind. As the solar wind particles are usually charged, the Earth’s powerful magnetosphere deflects the particles, only allowing them into the polar cusp regions where the polar magnetic fieldlines become “open.” The regions at which these energetic particles are allowed to enter glow as aurorae.

Usually this situation can last for aeons (a stable magnetic field threaded through the North and South Polar Regions), but occasionally, the magnetic field is known to reverse and alter in strength. Why is this?

Earths polarity reversals over the last 160 million years. Black = normal polarity, White = reversed polarity.

Again, we simply do not know. We do know that this magnetic pole flip-flop has occurred many times in the last few million years, the last occurred 780,000 years ago according to ferromagnetic sediment. A few scaremongering articles have said geomagnetic reversal occurs with “clockwork regularity” – this is simply not true. As can be seen from the diagram (left), magnetic reversal has occurred fairly chaotically in the last 160 million years. Long-term data suggests that the longest stable period between magnetic “flips” is nearly 40 million years (during the Cretaceous period over 65 million years BC) and the shortest is a few hundred years.

Some 2012 theories suggest that the Earth’s geomagnetic reversal is connected to the natural 11-year solar cycle. Again, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support this claim. No data has ever been produced suggesting a Sun-Earth magnetic polarity change connection.

So, already this doomsday theory falters in that geomagnetic reversal does not occur with “clockwork regularity,” and it has no connection with solar dynamics. We are not due a magnetic flip as we cannot predict when the next one is going to occur, magnetic reversals occur at seemingly random points in history.What causes geomagnetic reversal?

The model Earth, can a magnetic field be modelled in the lab?

Research is afoot to try to understand the internal dynamics of our planet. As the Earth spins, the molten iron inside churns and flows in a fairly stable manner for millennia. For some reason during geomagnetic reversal, some instability causes an interruption to the steady generation of a global magnetic field, causing it to flip-flop between the poles.

In a previous Gyandotcom 2012 Article, we discussed the efforts of geophysicist Dan Lathrop’s attempts to create his own “model Earth,” setting a 26 tonne ball (containing a molten iron analogue, sodium) spinning to see if the internal motion of the fluid could set up a magnetic field. This huge laboratory experiment is testament to the efforts being put into understanding how our Earth even generates a magnetic field, let alone why it randomly reverses.

A minority view (which, again is used by doomsayers to link geomagnetic reversal with Planet X) is that there may be some external influence that causes the reversal. You will often see associated with the Planet X/Nibiru claims that should this mystery object encounter the inner Solar System during its highly elliptical orbit, the magnetic field disturbance could upset the internal dynamics of the Earth (and the Sun, possibly generating that “killer” solar flare I discussed back in June in my article the mood of sun is changing). This theory is a poor attempt to link several doomsday scenarios with a common harbinger of doom (i.e. Planet X). There is no reason to think the strong magnetic field of the Earth can be influenced by any external force, let alone a non-existent planet (or was that a brown dwarf?).

The magnetic field strength waxes and wanes…

Variations in geomagnetic field in western US since last reversal. The vertical dashed line is the critical value of intensity below which Guyodo and Valet (1999) consider several directional excursions to have occurred.

New research into the Earth’s magnetic field was published recently in the September 26th issue of Science, suggesting that the Earth’s magnetic field isn’t as simple as we once believed. In addition to the North-South dipole, there is a weaker magnetic field spread around the planet, probably generated in the outer core of the Earth.

The Earth’s magnetic field is measured to vary in field strength and it is a well known fact that the magnetic field strength is currently experiencing a downward trend. The new research paper, co-authored by geochronologist Brad Singer of the University of Wisconsin, suggests that the weaker magnetic field is critical to geomagnetic reversal. Should the stronger dipole (north-south) field reduce below the magnetic field strength of this usually weaker, distributed field, a geomagnetic reversal is possible.

“The field is not always stable, the convection and the nature of the flow changes, and it can cause the dipole that’s generated to wax and wane in intensity and strength,” Singer said. “When it becomes very weak, it’s less capable of reaching to the surface of the Earth, and what you start to see emerge is this non-axial dipole, the weaker part of the field that’s left over.” Singer’s research group analysed samples of ancient lava from volcanoes in Tahiti and Germany between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago. By looking at an iron-rich mineral called magnetite in the lava, the researchers were able to deduce the direction of the magnetic field.

The spin of the electrons in the mineral is governed by the dominant magnetic field. During times of strong dipolar field, these electrons pointed toward the magnetic North Pole. During times of weak dipolar field, the electrons pointed to wherever the dominant field was, in this case the distributed magnetic field. They think that when the weakened dipolar field drops below a certain threshold, the distributed field pulls the dipolar field off-axis, causing a geomagnetic shift.

“The magnetic field is one of the most fundamental features of the Earth,” Singer said. “But it’s still one of the biggest enigmas in science. Why [the flip] happens is something people have been chasing for more than a hundred years.”

Our meandering magnetic pole

The movement of Earth’s north magnetic pole across the Canadian arctic, 1831–2001 (Geological Survey of Canada)

Although there appears to be a current downward trend in magnetic field strength, the current magnetic field is still considered to be “above average” when compared with the variations measured in recent history. According to researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, if the magnetic field continued to decrease at the current trend, the dipolar field would effectively be zero in 500 years time. However, it is more likely that the field strength will simply rebound and increase in strength as it has done over the last several thousand years, continuing with its natural fluctuations.

The positions of the magnetic poles are also known to be wondering over Arctic and Antarctic locations. Take the magnetic north pole for example (pictured left); it has accelerated north over the Canadian plains from 10 km per year in the 20th Century to 40 km per year more recently. It is thought that if the point of magnetic north continues this trend, it will exit North America and enter Siberia in a few decades time. This is not a new phenomenon however. Ever since James Ross’ discovery of the location of the north magnetic pole for the first time in 1831, it’s location has meandered hundreds of miles (even though today’s measurements show some acceleration).

So, no doomsday then?

Apparently, the world is going to end on December 21st, 2012. Yes, you read correctly, in some way, shape or form, the Earth (or at least a large portion of humans on the planet) will cease to exist. Stop planning your careers, don’t bother buying a house, and be sure to spend the last years of your life doing something you always wanted to do but never had the time. Now you have the time, four years of time, to enjoy yourselves before… the end.

So what is all this crazy talk? We’ve all heard these doomsday predictions before, we’re still here, and the planet is still here, why is 2012 so important? Well, the Mayan calendar stops at the end of the year 2012, churning up all sorts of religious, scientific, astrological and historic reasons why this calendar foretells the end of life as we know it. The Mayan Prophecy is gaining strength and appears to be worrying people in all areas of society. Forget Nostradamus, forget the Y2K bug, forget the credit crunch, this event is predicted to be huge and many wholeheartedly believe this is going to happen for real. Planet X could even be making a comeback.

Geomagnetic reversal is an engrossing area of geophysical research that will continue to occupy physicists and geologists for many years to come. Although the dynamics behind this event are not fully understood, there is absolutely no scientific evidence supporting the claim that there could be a geomagnetic reversal around the time of December 21st, 2012.

Besides, the effects of such a reversal have been totally over-hyped. Should we experience geomagnetic reversal in our lifetimes (which we probably won’t), it is unlikely that we’ll be cooked alive by the Solar Wind, or be wiped out by cosmic rays. It is unlikely that we’ll suffer any mass extinction event (after all, early man, homo erectus, lived through the last geomagnetic shift, apparently with ease). We’ll most likely experience aurorae at all latitudes whilst the dipolar magnetic field settles down to its new, reversed state, and there might be a small increase in energetic particles from space (remember, just because the magnetosphere is weakened, doesn’t mean we wont have magnetic protection), but we’ll still be (largely) protected by our thick atmosphere.

Satellites may malfunction and migrating birds may become confused, but to predict world collapse is a hard pill to swallow.

In conclusion:

Geomagnetic reversal is chaotic in nature.

There is no way we can predict it.

Simply because the magnetic field of the Earth is weakening does not mean it is near collapse. Geomagnetic field strength is “above average” if we compare today’s measurements with the last few million years.

The magnetic poles are not set in geographical locations, they move (at varying speeds) and have done ever since measurements began.

There is no evidence to suggest external forcing of internal geomagnetic dynamics of the Earth. Therefore there is no evidence of the solar cycle-geomagnetic shift connection. Don’t get me started on Planet X.

So, do you think there will be a geomagnetic reversal event in 2012? I thought not.

This is where the sunspots come in. As coronal loops continue to pop up over the surface, sunspots appear too, often located at the loop footpoints. Coronal loops have the effect of pushing the hotter surface layers of the Sun (the photosphere and chromosphere) aside, exposing the cooler convection zone (the reasons why the solar surface and atmosphere is hotter than the solar interior is down to the coronal heating phenomenon). As magnetic energy builds up, we can expect more and more magnetic flux to be forced together. This is when a phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection occurs.

Reconnection is the trigger for solar flares of various sizes. As previously reported, solar flares from “nanoflares” to “X-class flares” are very energetic events. Granted, the largest flares my generate enough energy for 100 billion atomic explosions, but don’t let this huge figure concern you. For a start, this flare occurs in the low corona, right near the solar surface. That’s nearly 100 million miles away (1AU). The Earth is nowhere close to the blast.

As the solar magnetic field lines release a huge amount of energy, solar plasma is accelerated and confined within the magnetic environment (solar plasma is superheated particles like protons, electrons and some light elements such as helium nuclei). As the plasma particles interact, X-rays may be generated if the conditions are right and bremsstrahlung is possible. (Bremsstrahlung occurs when charged particles interact, resulting in X-ray emission.) This may create an X-ray flare.

The biggest problem with an X-ray flare is that we get little warning when it is going to happen as X-rays travel at the speed of light (one of the record breaking 2003 solar flares is pictured left). X-rays from an X-class flare will reach the Earth in around eight minutes. As X-rays hit our atmosphere, they are absorbed in the outermost layer called the ionosphere. As you can guess from the name, this is a highly charged, reactive environment, full of ions (atomic nuclei, and free electrons).

During powerful solar events such as flares, rates of ionization between X-rays and atmospheric gases increase in the D and E region layers of the ionosphere. There is a sudden surge in electron production in these layers. These electrons can cause interference to the passage of radio waves through the atmosphere, absorbing short wave radio signals (in the high frequency range), possibly blocking global communications. These events are known as “Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances” (or SIDs) and they become commonplace during periods of high solar activity. Interestingly, the increase in electron density during a SID boosts the propagation of Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio, a phenomenon scientists use to measure the intensity of X-rays coming from the Sun.X-ray solar flare emissions are only part of the story. If the conditions are right, a coronal mass ejection (CME) might be produced at the site of the flare (although either phenomenon can occur independently). CMEs are slower than the propagation of X-rays, but their global effects here on Earth can be more problematic. They may not travel at the speed of light, but they still travel fast; they can travel at a rate of 2 million miles per hour (3.2 million km/hr), meaning they may reach us in a matter of hours.

This is where much effort is being put into space weather prediction. We have a handful of spacecraft sitting between the Earth and the Sun at the Earth-Sun Lagrangian (L1) point with sensors on board to measure the energy and intensity of the solar wind. Should a CME pass through their location, energetic particles and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) can be measured directly. One mission called the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) sits in the L1 point and provides scientists with up to an hour notice on the approach of a CME. ACE teams up with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), so CMEs can be tracked from the lower corona into interplanetary space, through the L1 point toward Earth. These solar missions are actively working together to provide space agencies with advanced notice of an Earth-directed CME.

So what if a CME reaches Earth? For a start, much depends on the magnetic configuration of the IMF (from the Sun) and the geomagnetic field of the Earth (the magnetosphere). Generally speaking, if both magnetic fields are aligned with polarities pointing in the same direction, it is highly probable that the CME will be repelled by the magnetosphere. In this case, the CME will slide past the Earth, causing some pressure and distortion on the magnetosphere, but otherwise passing without a problem. However, if the magnetic field lines are in an anti-parallel configuration (i.e. magnetic polarities in opposite directions), magnetic reconnection may occur at the leading edge of the magnetosphere.

In this event, the IMF and magnetosphere will merge, connecting the Earth’s magnetic field with the Sun’s. This sets the scene for one of the most awe inspiring events in nature: the aurora.

Satellites in Peril

As the CME magnetic field connects with the Earth’s, high energy particles are injected into the magnetosphere. Due to solar wind pressure, the Sun’s magnetic field lines will fold around the Earth, sweeping behind our planet. The particles injected in the “dayside” will be funnelled into the polar regions of the Earth where they interact with our atmosphere, generating light as aurorae. During this time, the Van Allen belt will also become “super-charged”, creating a region around the Earth that could cause problems to unprotected astronauts and any unshielded satellites.As if the radiation from the Van Allen belt wasn’t enough, satellites could succumb to the threat of an expanding atmosphere. As you’d expect, as if the Sun hits the Earth with X-rays and CMEs, there will be inevitable heating and global expansion of the atmosphere, possibly encroaching into satellite orbital altitudes. If left unchecked, an aerobraking effect on satellites could cause them to slow and drop in altitude. Aerobraking has been used extensively as a space flight tool to slow spacecraft down when being inserted into orbit around another planet, but this will have an adverse effect on satellites orbiting Earth as any slowing of velocity could cause it to re-enter the atmosphere.

We Feel the Effects on the Ground Too

Although satellites are on the front line, if there is a powerful surge in energetic particles entering the atmosphere, we may feel the adverse effects down here on Earth too. Due to the X-ray generation of electrons in the ionosphere, some forms of communication may become patchy (or be removed all together), but this isn’t all that can happen. Particularly in high-latitude regions, a vast electric current, known as an “electrojet”, may form through the ionosphere by these incoming particles. With an electric current comes a magnetic field. Depending on the intensity of the solar storm, currents may be induced down here on the ground, possibly overloading national power grids. On March 13th 1989, six million people lost power in the Quebec region of Canada after a huge increase in solar activity caused a surge from ground-induced currents. Quebec was paralysed for nine hours whilst engineers worked on a solution to the problem.Can Our Sun Produce a Killer Flare?

The short answer to this is “no”.

The longer answer is a little more involved. Whilst a solar flare from out Sun, aimed directly at us, could cause secondary problems such as satellite damage and injury to unprotected astronauts and blackouts, the flare itself is not powerful enough to destroy Earth, certainly not in 2012. I dare say, in the far future when the Sun begins to run out of fuel and swell into a red giant, it might be a bad era for life on Earth, but we have a few billion years to wait for that to happen. There could even be the possibility of several X-class flares being launched and by pure bad luck we may get hit by a series of CMEs and X-ray bursts, but none will be powerful to overcome our magnetosphere, ionosphere and thick atmosphere below.

“Killer” solar flares have been observed on other stars. In 2006, NASA’s Swift observatory saw the largest stellar flare ever observed 135 light-years away. Estimated to have unleashed an energy of 50 million trillion atomic bombs, the II Pegasi flare will have wiped out most life on Earth if our Sun fired X-rays from a flare of that energy at us. However, our Sun is not II Pegasi. II Pegasi is a violent red giant star with a binary partner in a very close orbit. It is believed the gravitational interaction with its binary partner and the fact II Pegasi is a red giant is the root cause behind this energetic flare event.

Doomsayers point to the Sun as a possible Earth-killer source, but the fact remains that our Sun is a very stable star. It does not have a binary partner (like II Pegasi), it has a predictable cycle (of approximately 11 years) and there is no evidence that our Sun contributed to any mass extinction event in the past via a huge Earth-directed flare. Very large solar flares have been observed (such as the 1859 Carrington white light flare)… but we are still here.

In an added twist, solar physicists are surprised by the lack of solar activity at the start of this 24th solar cycle, leading to some scientists to speculate we might be on the verge of another Maunder minimum and “Little Ice Age”. This is in stark contrast to NASA solar physicist’s 2006 prediction that this cycle will be a “doozy”.

This leads me to conclude that we still have a long way to go when predicting solar flare events. Although space weather prediction is improving, it will be a few years yet until we can read the Sun accurately enough to say with any certainty just how active a solar cycle is going to be. So, regardless of prophecy, prediction or myth, there is no physical way to say that the Earth will be hit by any flare, let alone a big one in 2012. Even if a big flare did hit us, it will not be an extinction event. Yes, satellites may be damaged, causing secondary problems such as a GPS loss (which might disrupt air traffic control for example) or national power grids may be overwhelmed by auroral electrojets, but nothing more extreme than that.

But hold on, to sidestep this issue, doomsayers now tell us that a large solar flare will hit us just as the Earth’s geomagnetic field weakens and reverses,or Catostrophic Earthquakes will Hit globally leaving us unprotected from the ravages of a CME…

by Rohit Sharma

to know about Solar Storms…Read The Changing moods of Sun in Gyandotcom site

The driver was taking me from mumbai airport to the express highway to pune city. As we chatted on theway , it came out that he was deeply worried. He had a wife and child, and a new baby on the way – but what was the use of living, he cried, if the world would end in 2012 as predicted by the Mayan prophecies, when his new baby would be just four years old.Prophecies about the end of the world (or at the very least, civilisation as we know it) have been around forever. There was a flurry of them around 2000 AD, and another bunch for 5 May 2005, when all the planets were supposed to line up. (By the way, they didn’t line up and yep, we’re still here.)The Mayan civilisation covered the skinny bit of the Americas between North and South America, reaching from the southern states of Mexico down to western Honduras. Its Classic Period was from 250 to 900 AD, so their best years were behind them by the time of the Spanish invasion.At their peak, the Mayans had the only mature written language ever found in the Americas, spectacular and densely populated cities, and very sophisticated systems of mathematics, astronomy and calendars.They were marvelous astronomers, showing what could be done with the naked eye. Their measurements of the lunar month, the period of Venus and the year were more accurate than those of the Ancient Greeks.Which brings us to the calendar that predicts the end of the world in 2012.The Mayans had many calendars, because they saw ‘time’ as a meshing of sacred or spiritual cycles. So while our Gregorian calendar organises days for social, administrative and commercial purposes, the Mayan calendars added a religious element. For example, each day had a patron spirit, and so could be good for travel, but bad for business.One of their several calendars was called the Long Count. It was set up around 355 BCE, and had as its chosen starting date 0.0.0.0.0, which corresponds to 11 August 3114 BCE. And on 21 December 2012, the Mayan Long Count calendar will read 13.0.0.0.0.Now here’s how it works. Our numbering system is based on 10. But the Mayans had a counting system based on 20, so most of the ’slots’ in their calendar had 20 potential numbers (0 to 19). The calendar read a little like the odometer in your car’s speedo (which run from 0 to 9). The extreme right slot (of five slots) would count through the days, and when it got to 19 days (0.0.0.0.19) would reset to zero, and the next slot across to the left would increase by one (to 0.0.0.1.0).So 0.0.0.0.1 was one day, and 0.0.0.1.0 was 20 days. Then 0.0.1.0.0 was about one year, 0.1.0.0.0 was about 20 years and with 1.0.0.0.0, you’ve clocked up about 400 years. And on 21 December 2012, the Mayan Long Count calendar will read 13.0.0.0.0.By the way, the time between 0.0.0.0.0 and 13.0.0.0.0 is about 5126 years. Now some Mayan archaeo-astronomers reckon that the calendar should reset back to zero and start again. But others disagree and say it should continue to 20, and then reset again.We don’t have enough information to know who is correct – but if it does go up to 20, then this completely destroys the End of Days Conspiracy Theory, as far as the year 2012 is concerned. But let’s stick to the 13 Conspiracy for the time being.The claims for 21 December 2012 cover a lot of ground. They range from ‘nuclear holocaust’ to ‘Harmonic Convergence of cosmic energy flowing through the earth, cleansing it and raising it to a higher level of vibration’, and along the way they include ‘the death of two-thirds of humanity’ and ‘the north and south poles will split’ – you get the picture. But there are two problems with this.

And the second problem is that it is always remarkably difficult to make predictions, especially about the future, and things that haven’t happened yet.

but the polar shift,global worming catostrophic earthquakes will hit in 2012. lets findout how

So, on with geomagnetic reversal…

How often does it happen?

The Earths interior

Earths polarity reversals over the last 160 million years. Black = normal polarity, White = reversed polarity.

The model Earth, can a magnetic field be modelled in the lab?

In a previous Gyandotcom the end of days 2012 Article, we discussed the efforts of geophysicist Dan Lathrop’s attempts to create his own “model Earth,” setting a 26 tonne ball (containing a molten iron analogue, sodium) spinning to see if the internal motion of the fluid could set up a magnetic field. This huge laboratory experiment is testament to the efforts being put into understanding how our Earth even generates a magnetic field, let alone why it randomly reverses.

The magnetic field strength waxes and wanes…

New research into the Earth’s magnetic field was published recently in the September 26th issue of Gyandotcom, suggesting that the Earth’s magnetic field isn’t as simple as we once believed. In addition to the North-South dipole, there is a weaker magnetic field spread around the planet, probably generated in the outer core of the Earth.

Our meandering magnetic pole

The movement of Earth’s north magnetic pole across the Canadian arctic, 1831–2001 (Geological Survey of Canada)

The positions of the magnetic poles are also known to be wondering over Arctic and Antarctic locations. Take the magnetic north pole it has accelerated north over the Canadian plains from 10 km per year in the 20th Century to 40 km per year more recently. It is thought that if the point of magnetic north continues this trend, it will exit North America and enter Siberia in a few decades time. This is not a new phenomenon however. Ever since James Ross’ discovery of the location of the north magnetic pole for the first time in 1831, it’s location has meandered hundreds of miles (even though today’s measurements show some acceleration).

So, no doomsday then?

So what is all this crazy talk?

We’ve all heard these doomsday predictions before even in gyandotcom i’ve written article on mayan calender prophacy, we’re still here, and the planet is still here, why is 2012 so important? Well, the Mayan calendar stops at the end of the year 2012, churning up all sorts of religious, scientific, astrological and historic reasons why this calendar foretells the end of life as we know it. The Mayan Prophecy is gaining strength and appears to be worrying people in all areas of society. Forget Nostradamus, forget the Y2K bug, forget the credit crunch, this event is predicted to be huge and many wholeheartedly believe this is going to happen for real. Planet X could even be making a comeback.

Satellites may malfunction and migrating birds may become confused, but to predict world collapse is a hard pill to swallow.

In conclusion:

Geomagnetic reversal is chaotic in nature.

There is no way we can predict it.

The magnetic poles are not set in geographical locations, they move (at varying speeds) and have done ever since measurements began.

So, do you think there will be a geomagnetic reversal event in 2012? I thought not.

In this event, the IMF and magnetosphere will merge, connecting the Earth’s magnetic field with the Sun’s. This sets the scene for one of the most awe inspiring events in nature: the aurora.

Satellites in Peril

We Feel the Effects on the Ground Too

The short answer to this is “no”.

by Rohit Sharma

to know about Solar Storms…Read The Changing moods of Sun in Gyandotcom site

ATM & Credit Card Cloning Fraud. Gyandotcom Investigates.

One of the more frequent means by which customers are defrauded is by cheque interception. On average, a cheque is handled by up to 20 people from the time you make it out to the time your branch pays it. This means that there are numerous opportunities for the cheque to be intercepted. Most commonly this happens when cheques are posted.

Another common way in which customers are defrauded is in accepting a cheque or bank deposit when selling goods. Often the cheque or the deposit turns out to be fraudulent and the seller is out of pocket. Sellers are advised never to release goods until they are certain that the payment is valid.

Always wait for the funds to be cleared before releasing goods, even if it seems to be a bank issued cheque. While the cheque may appear to be genuine, fraudsters have even gone so far as to print their own cheques. The cheque could also be stolen. Even if the cheque is genuine, there are certain circumstances when bank issued cheques will not be honoured.

A fake cheques scam estimated to the tune of Rs.52 crore has been unearthed in the State Bank of India’s (SBI) main branch in kanpur. Seven bank officers have been suspended, According to the official, the fraud, which was detected Tuesday evening, was being carried on with the active connivance of the branch officials. Most of the fake cheques were credited into the account of an influential petrol pump owner and one of his associates, who have reportedly fled the country.

“The suspended officials include an assistant general manager, two chief managers and some senior managers, who were suspected to be directly involved in pilfering the bank by crediting fake cheques into select accounts,” he said.

The Kanpur branch head and deputy general manager have been divested of the charge with immediate effect.

The scam was detected by SBI’s audit team in Hyderabad from which a special team had been sent here to this city, 80 km from state capital Lucknow.

A vigilance team from the Lucknow-based state head office was also sent to Kanpur.

While describing the case as the “biggest fraud in the Lucknow-Kanpur region in recent decades”, the bank official did not rule out the possibility of “more heads rolling” over the next few days.

Significantly, barely a few months back, a fake note racket involving SBI officials was discovered in a small SBI branch in Domariyaganj town on the India-Nepal border, about 200 km from Lucknow.

ATM fraud issues in the most part involve credit card fraud and debit card fraud. The ATM machine may be the ‘common purchase point’ (CPP) where analysis shows that a significant number of credit cards or debit cards were used genuinely in one specific location prior to detection of subsequent fraudulent transactions. Even when not the CPP, automated teller machines may be the mechanism used to convert compromised credit cards and debit cards into hard cash, so long as the credit card fraud or debit card fraud included compromise of the personal identification number (PIN).

ATM skimming is now common in most parts of the world that have a mature network of ATMs, self-service terminals and point of sale (POS) terminals that accept magnetic stripe based credit cards and debit cards. Most bank ATM security issues and ATM fraud issues involving ATM skimming are the result of criminals attaching an ATM skimmer to the ATM card reader slot. Europe has historically been one of the most targeted geographies for ATM skimming attacks, although the world-wide spread of such ATM skimming fraud has been, and continues to be significant. atm1

ATM deposit fraud which includes both cash deposit fraud and cheque fraud (check fraud) at automated teller machines is one type of ATM fraud that is particularly common in the US where many banks have a culture of crediting and allowing drawings against the deposit prior to manual reconciliation and verification.

ATM hacking should really only be used to describe attacks against the internals of the ATMs software or the ATMs systems security but is commonly used to describe attacks against card processors and other components of the transaction processing network. The US have experienced a number of high profile ‘ATM hack’ attacks against well known credit card and debit card processors. Some of the systems security breaches have included compromise of the PIN in addition to the card data, with subsequent fraudulent spend using cloned credit cards and cloned debit cards at ATMs.

Another ATM fraud issue is ATM card theft which includes credit card trapping and debit card trapping at ATMs. Originating in South America this type of ATM fraud has spread globally. Although somewhat replaced in terms of volume by ATM skimming incidents, a re-emergence of card trapping has been noticed in regions such as Europe where EMV Chip and PIN cards have increased in circulation.

ATM funds transfer fraud is prevalent in Asia. This ATM scam involves criminals tricking victims into using the automated teller machine to transfer money into the criminals account.

ATM security attacks involving physical attacks against the ATM security enclosure are widely spread. ATM explosive attacks although originating and not uncommon in Europe are more prevalent in Australia and South Africa.

ATM ram raid incidents also occur globally but are most prevalent in the US, perhaps partly due to the large number of ATMs deployed in soft-target locations such as convenience stores.

ATM security incidents involving a high degree of precision to gain access to the ATM security enclosure occur globally. The UK and Canada have experienced many such precision ATM security attacks in recent years.Never accept a faxed bank deposit slip as proof of payment. Amounts and details can easily be changed to reflect a higher value or that it is a cash deposit. Check with your bank first that the correct amount has been deposited and whether the deposit is cash or cheque. If it is a cheque deposit, wait until the cheque has been paid (usually this will take seven days) before you release goods.

What is card skimming?

‘Card skimming’ is the illegal copying of information from the magnetic strip of a credit or ATM card. It is a more direct version of a phishing scam.

The scammers try to steal your details so they can access your accounts. Once scammers have skimmed your card, they can create a fake or ‘cloned’ card with your details on it. The scammer is then able to run up charges on your account.

Card skimming is also a way for scammers to steal your identity (your personal details) and use it to commit identity fraud. By stealing your personal details and account numbers the scammer may be able to borrow money or take out loans in your name.
Warning signs

* A shop assistant takes your card out of your sight in order to process your transaction.
* You are asked to swipe your card through more than one machine.
* You see a shop assistant swipe the card through a different machine to the one you used.
* You notice something suspicious about the card slot on an ATM (e.g. an attached device).
* You notice unusual or unauthorized transactions on your account or credit card statement.
Protect yourself from card skimming
* Keep your credit card and ATM cards safe. Do not share your personal identity number (PIN) with anyone. Do not keep any written copy of your PIN with the card.
* Check your bank account and credit card statements when you get them. If you see a transaction you cannot explain, report it to your credit union or bank.
* Choose passwords that would be difficult for anyone else to guess.

As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams.
Do your homework

If you are using an ATM, take the time to check that there is nothing suspicious about the machine.

Ask yourself if you trust the person or trader who you are handing your card over to. If a shop assistant looks like they are going to take your card out of your sight, ask if it is really necessary.

If an ATM looks suspicious, do not use it and alert the ATM owner.

If you are in a shop and the assistant wants to swipe your card out of your sight, or in a second machine, you should ask for your card back straight away and either pay with a cheque or cash, or not make the purchase.

Now how to use ATM in Secure Way. Check it out

First of all locate an ATM which you wan to use. They can commonly be found either on the outside walls of banks (inbuilt ATMs) or in convenience and department stores (freestanding ATMs). In terms of security they are similar because of the fact that freestanding machines are more closely watched and are in more public places. Bank ATMs are more difficult to tamper with and are regularly checked by the bank, however they are more often in secluded areas where thieves can take their time to work on them.
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Step 2

Look around the immediate area where the ATM is located for security cameras. Thieves are much less likely to try to target an ATM if it is being watched by a camera. similarly if the machine is in a place with constant attention, such as a busy shopping mall, thieves are less likely to strike.
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Step 3

When approaching the machine, look closely at the front of the card slot. If this has been burned and melted somewhat, of if the slot protrudes more than it usually would then a cloning device may have been fitted. Many devices for cloning cards fit over the existing slot, so if the colors of these parts are slightly different in color to the rest of the machine, this is also something to look out for.
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Step 4

If the ATM look different to the last time that you used it, then look at the new pieces, as they might contain a cameras used to recording pin numbers, These cameras are often hidden in either plastic panels which are fitted over the original or in ordinary looking pamphlet holders on the side of the ATM. Real ranks pamphlet holders are always located to the side of the machine altogether rather than in a position that could be used for recording pin numbers.
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Step 5

Contact your card provider if you suspect any ATM which you have seen has been tampered with. As an extra precaution, using a smart card is also a good idea These cards have a chip built into them and so are much harder for thieves to read. Because of this they are often impervious to most kinds of fraudulent card reader as the technology needed to read this chip is fairly large and bulky, and cannot easily be hidden on the outside of an ATM.

ATM skimmers are devices that thieves install on ATM machines to steal the financial information of others. Sometimes there is also a tiny camera installed that will record the user’s pin number. The criminals that use these devices are also called skimmers. Here are some Tips you can do to protect yourself from ATM skimmers.
#1

Learn to recognize a skimmer when you see one. If you see wires poking out, a scanner that does not seem secure, multiple scanning devices, or a sticker that says scan here first, do not use the machine.
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Step 2

Do not use a machine if someone offers to help you with it. Often the criminals who install skimmers stay nearby and “assist” users with their transaction. They may pose as another customer, or a technician working on the machine.
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Step 3

Be secretive when entering your pin number. Cover the keys with one hand in case someone is looking over your shoulder, or there is a hidden camera nearby.
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Step 4

Make it a habit of using the same ATM machine as often as possible. If you do this you will be familiar with the ATM machine and will be able to spot if someone has installed a device or tampered with the ATM machine.
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Step 5

Use ATM machines where video cameras are installed so that criminals will have a harder time installing skimmers.
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Step 6

Check the balance on your ATM card often so that if someone steals your information, you can minimize the damage. The faster you respond to ATM card theft, the better your chance is that the bank will fully reimburse you.

Some sensible safety tips:

* The person writing out a cheque should always attempt to use a ballpoint pen instead of making use of pens with more erasable inks like fountain pens or felt tip pens.
* To prevent unauthorised additions and/or alterations, commence all writing as close as possible to the left-hand margin, leaving no gaps and drawing a line through unused spaces.
* Any cheques that the account holder does not wish to be cashed should be crossed and, to ensure that a cheque is paid into the intended beneficiary’s account, the cheque should be marked with the words “Not Transferable” between two transverse lines.
* The customer should take responsibility for keeping his/her chequebook in a safe place to prevent unauthorised use.
* The customer should always keep his chequebook separate from his credit cards, ATM cards or any other document that bears his signature. If a thief gets hold of your chequebook, but does not have a sample of your signature, a forged signature will probably not resemble yours.
* All paid cheques that are returned with your bank statements should be kept in a safe place because they contain your signature. Fraudsters may even try to re-use these cheques.
* The customer should make a habit of doing monthly reconciliations on the cheques that were issued on his/her account.
* Regular recons should be done on all unused cheques in a chequebook against counterfoil or carbon copy records.
* The customer should report a stolen chequebook to his/her account holding or nearest FNB branch as soon as he/she detects that the chequebook is missing. There is also the ability to stop a cheque online via FNB Internet Banking.
* The posting of cheques should be avoided and, should it be necessary, cheques should be placed in non-transparent or dark envelopes without any staples / paper clips, which can be felt through the envelope.
* Never have any cheques lying around that have not been completed or fully signed.
* Many alternative payment methods exist that are safe and convenient and can even save on bank charges. These alternatives include Visa Cheque Cards, Visa Electron debit cards, Internet, Telephone and Cellphone Banking, ATM payments, debit orders and future dated payments.

Ashish Ravindranathan the 18-year-old IIT-Bombay first-year student has allegedly duped 25 credit card-holders and made a whopping Rs 6.5 lakh in just six months. Ashish completed studies at Delhi Public School in Ahmedabad in 2008, with 90% marks and went on to IIT-Bombay.

Ashish Ravindranathan modus operandi

Ashish used to pose as a bank executive, Ashish got credit card details from customers. He then used the data to book air tickets and buy laptops. He had tied up with a travel agent to cancel the tickets and share the booty, while the laptops he sold across the country at a discount. Every day, Ashish would call 50-100 credit card holders, offering to issue credit cards. He would then get details of credit cards that they already had. Some gullible customers fell for his ploy and even parted with the critical CVV number.

Ashish Ravindranathan was operating since October last year, said crime branch officers. It was like a movie the way he was trapped – disguised as gardeners and security guards, police trailed him to some of his favourite haunts in Ahmedabad to catch him red-handed as he made calls to credit card holders, posing as a representative of Barclays Bank.

A resident of Hyderabad – his father works in the US. Ashish lives with his mother and younger sister and the family is very comfortable financially. Ashish allegedly told the cops that he had got used to lavish spending and wanted to make quick money on the sly.

how all this Techniques used ,we start with a credit card cloning technique used by conmens.

Credit card cloning, or “skimming” as it is sometimes called, is a new technique whereby someone obtains your credit card details, copies them onto a bogus card and begins using the credit card. While credit card theft itself is not new, the manner in which the information is stolen is.

The first step is to recruit an individual willing to participate in the scheme. Bartenders, wait staff or shop assistants are often prime targets because of the sheer volume of credit cards they handle.

Recruits are given a pocketsize device with a scanning slot, something that resembles a pager and can be worn on a belt. They are instructed to swipe customers’ credit cards through the device. Because the process takes only a few seconds it can be done easily and inconspicuously without the customer or another employee noticing.

Swiping the credit card through the device copies the information held on the magnetic strip into memory. That information can subsequently be copied to a counterfeit card, complete with security holograms.

Alternatively, the information can be used to overwrite a stolen credit card which has become too hot to handle.

Do not underestimate the size of this problem. In the U.K. alone an astonishing $200m was spent with cloned credit cards in 2000. That’s over $500,000 every single day!

Finally Tips & Warnings
DO NOT REVEAL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION OR ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION TO ANY KNOWN OR UNKNOWN PERSON.
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If you suspect any problems with the ATM machines, do not use it and report it to the bank or establishment where it is installed.
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If you see suspicious looking people around the ATM machine, do not use it.

GUARD YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.
Be careful with giving out your personal information. Never give anyone your information for a reason you don’t understand or are not comfortable with. Whenever possible, request to use other types of identification.

**Additionally, never carry around your social security card,Passport,Voters Id card,. Always keep it in a secure, private place.
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Step 2

PROTECT YOUR E- MAIL,Post mailers,Telephone bills,Electricity bills,credit card recipts,credit card bills.
To keep a thief from stealing personal information about you by snooping through your trash or recycling bin, protect your all bills: Always tear or shred your charge receipts, credit applications, insurance forms, bank statements, expired charge cards, and preapproved credit offers. Additionally, put all outgoing mail in mailboxes or at your local post office and promptly take your mail from your mailbox after it’s delivered. If you’re going on vacation, call your post office to request a vacation hold.
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Step 3

PROTECT YOUR CREDIT CARDS.
Keep the number of cards you carry in your wallet to a minimum. If you lose a card, contact the fraud division of your credit card company. If you apply for a new card and it doesn’t come in a reasonable amount of time, contact the card issuer. Watch cashiers whenever you give them your card for a purchase. Whenever you receive a new card, sign it in permanent ink and activate it immediately.
In addition, pay attention to your credit card billing cycles. Contact creditors if your bills arrive late or not at all. Missing bills could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed the billing address.
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Step 4

PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AT HOME.
Make sure you keep all personal information about you in a secure place in your home especially if you are having work done, employ outside help, or live with a roommate.
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Step 5

PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AT WORK.
Verify that your personal information is kept in a secure location and is only accessible to employees with a legitimate reason to review it.
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Step 6

BE CAREFUL WITH PASSWORDS AND PINS.
In general, it’s best to memorize passwords and personal identification numbers instead of carrying them with you. Avoid using obvious or easily available information such as: your name or birth date, your mother’s maiden name, the last 4 digits of your SSN or phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers or letters.
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Step 7

MONITOR YOUR CREDIT REPORT.
To guard against identity theft, check your credit report regularly to ensure that the information it contains is true and accurate. Report any suspicious looking information to the credit agency.
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Step 8

BE VIGILANT!
But if you ever suspect that you might be the victim of possible identity theft, you can place an Initial 90 day Fraud Alert by calling any of the 3 national credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. The agency that accepts your request will notify the other 2 agencies, and will add the alert to your file or request additional information. You will receive a confirmation when the alert is added to your file.

Protect yourself from credit card scams

* NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
* Check your bank account and credit card statements when you get them. If you see a transaction you cannot explain, report it to your credit union or bank.
* Keep your credit card and ATM cards safe. Do not share your personal identity number (PIN) with anyone. Do not keep any written copy of your PIN with the card.
* Choose passwords that would be difficult for anyone else to guess.
* Try to avoid using public computers (at libraries or internet cafes) to do your internet banking.
* Do not use software on your computer that auto-completes online forms. This can give internet scammers easy access to your personal and credit card details.
* Do not give out your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
* Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email.
If you are buying something over the telephone or internet and want to use your credit card, make sure you know and trust the other party. If you want to provide your credit card details to a telemarketer, take their name and call them back on a phone number you find independently (i.e., not a number they give to you).

Check over your credit card and bank account statements as soon as you get them so that if anybody is using your account without your permission you can tell your bank.

Whenever you want to give out your credit card details, ask yourself if it is safe to do so. If you are very careful with your credit card and PIN, you can greatly reduce the chances of your credit card details ending up with a scammer.

So how do you protect yourself? You know the answer.

by Rohit Sharma for Gyandotcom

The original Photograph of Jhansi ki Rani 1850. Gyandotcom Exclusive

अब तक आपने झांसी की रानी की तस्वीर पुस्तकों में स्केच या कैनवास पर ब्रश से उकेरे प्रयासों के सहारे ही देखा होगा, लेकिन भारत में रानी की रानी लक्ष्मीबाई की मूल तस्वीर जिसको आप शायद ही कभी देखें हो।

जी हां ये है झांसी की रानी की 1850 मैं खींची गई मूल तस्वीर, जिसे सन 1850 में अंग्रेज फोटोग्राफर हॉफमैन ने लिया था। पिछले दिनों विश्व फोटोग्राफी दिवस यानि 19 अगस्त को पद्मश्री वामन ठाकरे द्वारा खींचे गए छायाचित्रों, कैनवास पे उकेरे चित्रों, लेखन कार्य और अन्य कलाकृतियों की प्रदर्शनी का आयोजन भोपाल में किया गया था। इस प्रदर्शनी में उनके विशेष आग्रह पे अहमदाबाद के एक एंटिक संग्रहकर्ता ने यह छायाचित्र भेजा था।

इस फोटो को श्री वामन ने प्रदर्शनी में दिखाकर लोगों को आश्चर्यचकित कर दिया। क्योंकि लक्ष्मीबाई के मूल फोटो को आज तक शायद ही किसी ने देखा होगा। अभी तक ऐसा माना जाता रहा है कि इस दुनिया में रानी लक्ष्मीबाई की तस्वीर उपलब्ध नहीं है। लेकिन इस तस्वीर के एकाएक सामने आ जाने से यह साफ हो गया कि रानी की तस्वीर अभी भी उपलब्ध है

अब तक आपने झांसी की रानी की तस्वीर पुस्तकों में स्केच या कैनवास पर ब्रश से उकेरे प्रयासों के सहारे ही देखा होगा, लेकिन भारत में रानी की रानी

लक्ष्मीबाई की मूल तस्वीर जिसको आप शायद ही कभी देखें हो।

The Sudden Death of India Moon Mission Chandrayaan. Exclusive By Gyandotcom

Communication link with Chandrayaan-1 broke on Saturday

India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, came to an abrupt end today after communication link with the spacecraft snapped. The spacecraft, which has 11 instruments on board including six from overseas, will now continue to orbit the moon and may eventually taste the lunar dust. Launched on October 22 last year, it was expected to orbit the moon for two years.

“We lost communication link with the spacecraft for the first time in the wee hours of Saturday. Attempts to re-establish contact have been futile. The mission is as good as lost,” Indian Space Research Organisation Director S Satish said. “We may have to abandon the spacecraft if we are not able to establish radio contact with it again,” he added. “The mission is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft,” Chandrayaan-1 Project Director M Annadurai told Press Trust of India.

The problem surfaced at 0130 hrs when ISRO suddenly lost radio contact with the spacecraft. Since then it has neither been able to receive nor send any data to the spacecraft. The Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received data from Chandrayaan-1 up to 0025 hrs. A detailed review of the telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analysed, said a statement from ISRO.

The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The project cost was around Rs 390 crore. The 1,380 kg spacecraft has completed 312 days in space and has made over 3,400 orbits around the moon. It has provided large volume of data from sophisticated sensors, and has met most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

ISRO had said last month that Chandrayaan-1 had sent more than 70,000 images of the lunar surface which provide breathtaking views of lunar mountains and craters, especially craters in the permanently shadowed areas of the moon’s polar region. It was also collecting valuable data pertaining to the chemical and mineral content of earth’s satellite. “It ( Chandrayaan-1) has done its job technically…100 per cent. Scientifically also, it has done 90-95 percent of its job,” PTI quoted Annadurai as saying.

However, in July, Chandrayaan-1 had developed a malfunction that put some experiments in jeopardy – it had lost a vital sensor. ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair had said that scientists had worked around the problem and patched two other instruments to help the spacecraft to the desired locations.

It was then that he had indicated that the life of Chandrayaan-1 may be reduced.

Still, on August 21, ISRO and NASA performed a unique joint experiment that the Indian space agency said could yield additional information on the possible existence of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near the North pole of the moon.

The idea of undertaking an Indian scientific mission to Moon was first mooted in a meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1999 that was followed up by discussions in the Astronautical Society of India in 2000.

But it was only in November 2003 that the government approved ISRO’s proposal for the first Indian Moon Mission called Chandrayaan-1.

The government had also announced its plans to launch Chandrayaan-2, the second unmanned lunar exploration mission proposed by ISRO, at a cost of around Rs 450 crore.

The mission will include a lunar orbiter as well as a lander/rover.

However, the abrupt end of Chandrayyan-1 may now raise doubts about its proposed launch in 2012.

Communication link with Chandrayaan-1 broke on Saturday 29-8-2009

It was then that he had indicated that the life of Chandrayaan-1 may be reduced.

But it was only in November 2003 that the government approved ISRO’s proposal for the first Indian Moon Mission called Chandrayaan-1.

The government had also announced its plans to launch Chandrayaan-2, the second unmanned lunar exploration mission proposed by ISRO, at a cost of around Rs 450 crore.

The mission will include a lunar orbiter as well as a lander/rover. chandrayaan-01

However, the abrupt end of Chandrayyan-1 may now raise doubts about its proposed launch in 2012.

“Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 1.30 a.m. (IST) on August 29, 2009. The Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received data from [it] during the previous orbit up to 12.25 a.m. (IST),” the agency said in a short statement.

Senior officials connected with the Rs 380-crore lunar orbiter mission were not immediately available to say what had gone wrong. The statement said telemetry data received from the spacecraft were being reviewed and the health of the spacecraft subsystems was being assessed.

Mr S. Satish, Director, Publicity and Public Relations, said: “We are able to neither send commands nor receive any data from the spacecraft.” He said the spacecraft did not show any recent sign of deterioration.

Asked if this was the end of the mission and about the fate of the spacecraft, he said: “As we have lost contact with the spacecraft, we do not know what has happened to it.”

The timing of the announcement of Chandrayaan-1 is ironical. ISRO, along with the Astronautical Society of India, is hosting a five-day international conference on low-cost planetary mission in Goa, where 40 overseas participants are expected. ISRO’s Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space, Mr G. Madhavan Nair, is also the President of ASI.

EARLY PROBLEMS

Chandrayaan-I was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on October 22, 2008. It was built for a life of two years and was to circle Moon pole to pole from a distance of 100 km to map its surface and look for water and vital minerals. The first signs of trouble started showing within months, although ISRO acknowledged it only three months later.

On May 19, ISRO doubled the orbiting distance to 200 km, explaining that this was to save the instruments from the intense heat of radiation from Moon’s surface. Again, on July 17, Mr Nair told newspersons that the two onboard star-tracking sensors had failed in April and the lunar craft was facing an orientation problem.

It had been stabilised by an alternative mode with gyroscopes. This did not mean the craft was crippled or dying, he said.

Mr Nair had also said all other instruments were functioning well but there was concern about the High Energy X-ray Spectrometer or HEX, which may have been hit by radiation. HEX is meant to detect water, uranium and thorium. “A complex mission like this can encounter unexpected problems,” was the refrain of senior officials.

On the plus side, it had achieved most of the scientific objectives, including dropping the Tricolour on to lunar surface on November 14 last and the 3D lunar surface mapping, he had said.

Until Saturday, the spacecraft completed 312 days in orbit, made over 3,400 orbits around Moon and provided a large volume of data.

It carried 11 sophisticated sensors from ISRO and five agencies – including the Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager and the Moon Mineralogy Mapper. ISRO has at least one more lunar mission in the pipeline for 2012-13 and has teamed up with Russia for Chandrayaan-2.

however On Aug. 20, 2009 last week NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) attempt a novel joint experiment that could yield more information on whether ice exists in a permanently shadowed crater near the north pole of the moon. Currently the ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft are orbiting the moon. While LRO is in its commissioning phase the two spacecraft pass close enough to each other when they are over the lunar north pole to attempt a unique experiment. Both spacecraft are equipped with a NASA Miniature Radio Frequency (RF) instrument that functions as a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), known as Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 and Mini-RF on LRO. The experiment uses both radars to point at Erlanger Crater at the same time.

Normally the Mini-RF Instrument sends radio pulses to the moon and precisely records the radio echoes that bounce straight back from the surface, along with their timing and frequency. From these data scientists can build images of the moon that not only show areas they otherwise couldn’t see, such as the permanently-shadowed areas near the lunar poles, but also contain information on the physical nature of the surface.

For the Bi-Static experiment the Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 performs its normal SAR imaging (transmitting and receiving) while the Mini-RF is set to receive only. The two instruments look at the same location from different angles. Comparing the signal that bounces straight back to Chandrayaan with the signal that bounces at a slight angle to LRO provides unique information about the surface.

Arecibo Radiotelescope Puerto Rico – Low resolution Earth-based radar image of the North Pole of the Moon, showing the position of the crater Erlanger (arrow). Radar image (70 cm wavelength).

Stewart Nozette, Mini-RF principal investigator from the Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute, said, “An extraordinary effort was made by the whole NASA team working with ISRO to make this happen”

While this coordination sounds easy, this experiment is extremely challenging because both spacecraft are traveling at about 1.6 km per second and will be looking at an area on the ground about 18 km across. Due to the extreme speeds and the small point of interest, NASA and ISRO need to obtain and share information about the location and pointing of both spacecraft. The Bi-Static experiment requires extensive tracking by ground stations of NASA’s Deep Space Network, the Applied Physics Laboratory, and ISRO. 380722main_erlanger_crater_226x170

Even with the considerable planning and coordination between the U.S. and India the two instrument beams may not overlap, or may miss the desired location. Even without hitting the exact location Scientists may still be able to use the Bi-Static information to further knowledge already received from both instruments.

“The international coordination and cooperation between the two agencies for this experiment is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate future cooperation between NASA and ISRO, “says Jason Crusan, program executive for the Mini-RF program, from NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

ISRO/NASA/JHUAPL/LPI – Mosaic of Mini-SAR image strips of the north polar area, showing the crater Erlanger, just south of the crater Peary. North Pole is in the direction of left top, out of frame. Mini-SAR radar image, Chandrayaan-1 mission.

“In the last few years we have seen a renaissance in international interest and cooperation in the study of the moon” says Gordon Johnson, program executive for the LRO, from NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. “As LRO completes its commissioning phase, we look forward to LRO’s contribution to this international effort.”

LRO was launched June 18, 2009. Its objectives are to scout for safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. built and manages the mission for NASA’S Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. LRO is a NASA mission with international participation from the Institute for Space Research in Moscow. Russia provides the neutron detector aboard the spacecraft.

Instrument principal investigators Stewart Nozette (LRO) and Paul Spudis (Chandrayaan-1) are from the Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute. NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, manages the Mini-RF program. NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, manages the LRO.

In addition to Mini-SAR the Chandryaan-1 spacecraft, which was launched in October 2008 from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, also carries NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper for assessing the moon’s mineral resources.

Gyandotcom

On the Launch day of Chandryaan-1

In the next six months the team will wrestle with the details of launching such a mission, including its cost-effectiveness and the areas in which Indian scientists can significantly add to the mountain of knowledge that has already been collected about the moon. It will form the basis of a project report that ISRO will submit to the Central Government for approval. The objective: to have an Indian lunar mission sent up by October 2008. “As a motivator, it will electrify the nation,” Kasturirangan explained last week. “If we go ahead, it will demonstrate to the world that India is capable of taking up a complex mission that is at the cutting edge of space. The spins-offs for us are going to be many.”first planetary mission, Chandrayaan-1, has now been rescheduled to take place in the first week of July as the mission personnel work overtime to sort out payload integration and launch-related issues. “We are targeting the end of June. We will try to make it in the first week of July,” a senior scientist associated with the Rs 386 crore moon mission told here on Monday on condition of anonymity.
The lunar mission was originally scheduled for April this year, a time-frame targeted four years ago to get all the payloads well ahead of time and to galvanise the scientists into mission mode with a target to work on.

Indian Space Research Organisation officials insisted that there are no hardware problems and that the space agency is moving more cautiously to ensure that all systems are well tested before and after integration at each stage.

The 525-kg lunar orbiter will carry as many as 11 instruments (payloads), including six from overseas — two from the US and one each from Britain, Sweden, Germany and Bulgaria.

“Normally we have 2-3 instruments (on board satellite). For the first time, we have 11 instruments from different institutions. We have to ensure that the integration work takes place to our satisfaction
Project Director of Chandrayaan-1.

Stressing on inter-compatibility of various instruments on board, Annadurai said ISRO is working on ensuring that “all the systems (one system) does not disturb other systems’ performance”. “Any system of this volume will have its own issues that need to be solved before proceeding to the next step,” he said.

“The issue gets compounded as the organisations are many. When we do this, it will add to taking away schedule cushions. Just to keep the launch target, we don’t want to overlook any issue that will compromise the unqualified success of the mission”.

ISRO had earlier proposed to launch the lunar probe on April 9 and if not on that day, then on April 23.

“If systems (once integrated and with propellants loaded) are kept for 14 days, then there could be some deterioration”, he said, adding, ISRO is now working on a strategy that would allow it to have more number of launch opportunities. “We have almost arrived at a strategy”.

ISRO would keep a half-an-hour launch window on a given day, and if it is not in a position for the mission during that period, it could be done in the subsequent two days as well, Annadurai explained.While the spacecraft itself will not land on the Moon, it will act as an orbiter and land a rover on the surface. The spacecraft is being launched next month sometime between October 22 and October 26 2008. The spacecraft payload includes 11 payloads (including one from NASA) and will perform remote sensing and studies of the lunar surface. The mission is estimated to cost Rs 386 crore (~ 84.3 million USD).”

The Working Model of Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1

How it Works?

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 mission are simultaneous chemical, mineralogicaland topographic mapping of the lunar surface at high spatial resolution. These data should enableus to understand compositional variation of major elements, which in turn, should lead to a betterunderstanding of the stratigraphic relationships between various litho units occurring on the lunarsurface. The major element distribution will be determined using an X-ray fluorescence spectro-meter (LEX), sensitive in the energy range of 1–10 keV where Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe give their Kαlines. A solar X-ray monitor (SXM) to measure the energy spectrum of solar X-rays, which areresponsible for the fluorescent X-rays, is included. Radioactive elements like Th will be measured byits 238.6 keV line using a low energy gamma-ray spectrometer (HEX) operating in the 20–250 keVregion. The mineral composition will be determined by a hyper-spectral imaging spectrometer(HySI) sensitive in the 400–920 nm range. The wavelength range is further extended to 2600 nmwhere some spectral features of the abundant lunar minerals and water occur, by using a near-infrared spectrometer (SIR-2), similar to that used on the Smart-1 mission, in collaboration withESA. A terrain mapping camera (TMC) in the panchromatic band will provide a three-dimensionalmap of the lunar surface with a spatial resolution of about 5m. Aided by a laser altimeter (LLRI)to determine the altitude of the lunar craft, to correct for spatial coverage by various instruments,TMC should enable us to prepare an elevation map with an accuracy of about 10m.Four additional instruments under international collaboration are being considered. These are:a Miniature Imaging Radar Instrument (mini-SAR), Sub Atomic Reflecting Analyser (SARA),the Moon Mineral Mapper (M3) and a Radiation Monitor (RADOM). Apart from these scientificpayloads, certain technology experiments have been proposed, which may include an impactorwhich will be released to land on the Moon during the mission.Salient features of the mission are described here. The ensemble of instruments onboardChandrayaan-1 should enable us to accomplish the science goals defined for this mission.Chandrayaan-1 is a remote sensing mission pro-posed to be launched from the Satish DhawanLaunch Station at Sriharikota in 2007 by theIndian Space Research Organization using thePolar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It will be injectedinto 240×36,000 km Elliptic Transfer Orbit (ETO)around the Earth and will be inserted in a circum-lunar orbit (LOI) via Lunar Transfer Trajectory(LTT). The launch profile is discussed in detail inan accompanying paper (Adimurthy et al 2005). Itwill enter the lunar orbit at about 1000 km altitudeand brought down to 100 km polar circular orbitin one or two stages. The lunar craft is designedto orbit the moon for a period of two years duringwhich it will carry out chemical, mineralogical andtopographic study of the lunar surface.There are several questions which are critical forunderstanding the formation and early evolution-ary history of the Moon, and the Chandrayaan-1mission objectives have been formulated keepingthis in mind.The main objective of the mission is simultane-ous chemical, mineral and topographic mappingwith the specific goal of understanding the earlyevolution of the Moon. Chemical stratigraphy canprovide better estimation of the average lunar com-position and processes responsible for chemical dif-ferentiation of the Moon. Transport of volatiles,specifically water, and their deposition in thecolder regions of the Moon and degassing of theMoon can be understood by using radon and itsdaughter nuclide210Pb as tracers.

When
Chandrayaan-1 planned to be launched in 2008 using spacecraft and launch vehicle of ISRO. The mission is expected to have an operational life of about 2 years.

The idea of undertaking an Indian scientific mission to Moon was initially mooted in a meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1999 that was followed up by discussions in the Astronautical Society of India in 2000. Based on the recommendations made by the learned members of these forums, a National Lunar Mission Task Force was constituted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Leading Indian scientists and technologists participated in the deliberations of the Task Force that provided an assessment on the feasibility of an Indian Mission to the Moon as well as dwelt on the focus of such a mission and its possible configuration.

Government of India approved ISRO’s proposal for Chandrayaan-1 in November 2003.

Chandrayaan will be ready to launch in between October 19 and October 28.

chandrayaan 1 is now in lunar orbit. the scientific objective of the mission is

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives are

	To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

	To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

The Simultaneous photo geological, mineralogical and chemical mapping through Chandrayaan-1 mission will enable identification of different geological units to infer the early evolutionary history of the Moon. The chemical mapping will enable to determine the stratigraphy and nature of the Moon’s crust and thereby test certain aspects of magma ocean hypothesis. This may allow to determine the compositions of impactors that bombarded the Moon during its early evolution which is also relevant to the formation of the Earth.

Scientific Objectives

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives are

	To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

	To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

Click here to enlarge

Radiation Environment of the Moon

Radiation environment of the Moon produced by solar radiation and solar and galactic cosmic rays: The reflectance spectrum is useful for mineral identification, the fluorescent X-ray spectrum and solar and galactic cosmic-ray produced gamma radiation for chemical mapping, and radiogenic gamma and alpha particle spectrum for mapping of radioactive nuclides (U, Th, K, etc.) and in understanding the leakage of radon from the lunar interior and its transport on the lunar surface. The uranium decay chain, which produces ²²²Rn and its daughters, forming a thin ‘paint’ on the lunar surface, are shown on the right. The temperature regimes on the sunlit and night side of the Moon and the permanently shadowed cold Polar Regions are shown schematically

Mission Objectives

	To realise the mission goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support systems including Deep Space Network (DSN) station.

	To realise the integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar polar orbit of about 100 km, in-orbit operation of experiments, communication/ telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientific utilisation by scientists.

by Gyandotcom

12-12-2012 (new update). by Gyandotcom

December 12-12-2012

End of Days

By Rohit Sharma

Over 200 predictions and counting!

Yes the end is coming, but all human predictions are wrong!

Mathew 24:35-36 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Jesus Christ.

An untold number of people have tried to predict the Lord’s return by using elaborate time tables. Most date setters do not realize mankind has not kept an unwavering record of time. Anyone wanting to chart for example 100 BC to 2000 AD would have contend with the fact 46 BC was 445 days long, there was no year 0 BC, and in 1582 we switched from Julian Years (360 days) to Gregorian (365 days). Because most prognosticators are not aware of all these errors, from the get go their math is already off by several years.

Will the world end in Dec 21-12-2012? No, it won’t.
Will there be a major cataclysm in 2012? Quite possibly.

This page examines some of the significances behind the date of December 12, 2012.

We are currently in a period of eleven years all of which have a day with the last two digits of the year repeated three times in mm/dd/yy form (or dd/mm/yy or yy/mm/dd). So May 5, 2005 was 05/05/05; June 6, 2006 will be 06/06/06; July 7, 2007 will be 07/07/07, etc. So what’s going to happen on December 12, 2012?

December 12, 2012 is 6 years, 6 months, 6 days from June 6, 2006, or 6/6/6 (or 2381 days)

December 12, 2012 is 7 years from December 12, 2005 (or 2557 days). Are we now in the Seven Year Tribulation Period?

December 12, 2012 is 11 years, 3 months, 1 day from September 11, 2001 (or 4110 days)

Why 2012?

THE HOW AND WHY OF THE MAYAN END DATE IN DEC 12-12-2012 A.D

Midnight ¾ April 5 , 2008.

Monday, April 07, 2008 The Logic behind.

Why did the ancient Mayan or pre-Maya choose December 21st, 2012 A.D., as the end of their Long Count calendar? This article will cover some recent research. Scholars have known for decades that the 13-baktun cycle of the Mayan “Long Count” system of timekeeping was set to end precisely on a winter solstice, and that this system was put in place some 2300 years ago. This amazing fact – that ancient Mesoamerica- can sky watchers were able to pinpoint a winter solstice far off into the future – has not been dealt with by Mayanists. And why did they choose the year 2012? One immediately gets the impression that there is a very strange mystery to be confronted here. I will be building upon a clue to this mystery reported by epigrapher Linda Schele in Maya Cosmos (1994). Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies (Borderlands Science and Research Foundation, 1994).

The Mayan Long Count

Just some basics to get us started. The Maya were adept sky watchers. Their Classic Period is thought to have lasted from 200 A.D. to 900 A.D., but recent archeological findings are pushing back the dawn of Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica. Large ruin sites indicating high culture with distinctly Mayan antecedents are being found in the jungles of Guatemala dating back to before the Common Era. And even before this, the Olmec civilization flourished and developed the sacred count of 260 days known as the tzolkin. The early Maya adopted two different time keeping systems, the “Short Count” and the Long Count. The Short Count derives from combining the tzolkin cycle with the solar year and the Venus cycle of 584 days. In this way, “short” periods of 13, 52 and 104 years are generated. Unfortunately, we won’t have occasion to dwell on the properties of the so-called Short Count system here. The Long Count system is somewhat more abstract, yet is also related to certain astronomical cycles. It is based upon nested cycles of days multiplied at each level by that key Mayan number, twenty:

Number of Days / Term

1 / Kin (day)

20 / Uinal

360 / Tun

7200 / Katun

144000 / Baktun Long count names: The last initial series was recorded at Tonina, on 10.4.0.0.0 (20 Jan 909 AD). Since it was no longer in use when the Spanish arrived, we are uncertain about some LC terminology. Only the period names katun, winal, and kin are known with assurance. Tun is a Yucatec word for “year,” but both LC and calendar round “years” seem to have sometimes been called haab. Baktun is only a plausible Yucatec name. Linda Schele noted that the phonetic value of the symbol form of the baktun glyph is pi. The ISIG glyph has recently been read tzik haab’, “the count of years.”

Long Count

glyphs represent periods of time.

k’in= day
winal = 20 day month
tun = 360 day long count year (18 winal)
katun = 7200 days (20 tun)
baktun = 144000 days (20 katun)

The periods are listed from largest to smallest in the inscriptions. Each period glyph is preceded by a number, usually written in “dot and bar” form: Bar = 5, and dot = 1. Zero is indicated by a “shell” glyph. The first numbered glyph here reads 9 baktun. It counts 9 x 144000 = 1296000 days since creation. The long count is the sum of the multiples of each of the five periods.

The example can written (in the short-hand used by Mayanists) from baktun to k’in as 9.16.0.2.0. This is a total count of (9 x 144,000) + (16 x 7200) + (0 x 360) + (2 x 20) + (0 x 1) = 1411240 days.

Origin of the long count: During the Classical period (200-900 AD), only the Maya kept the long count, but it appears to have been invented by late pre-Classical peoples on the western border of the Maya area. The oldest known example is Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2, dated to 32 BC. Maya civilization emerged during the pre-Classical, perhaps as early as 400 BC, but the earliest long count that is unequivocally Maya is early Classical, found on Tikal stelae 29. It is inscribed with the long count 8.12.14.8.15 = 292 AD.Long count names: The last initial series was recorded at Tonina, on 10.4.0.0.0 (20 Jan 909 AD). Since it was no longer in use when the Spanish arrived, we are uncertain about some LC terminology. Only the period names katun, winal, and kin are known with assurance. Tun is a Yucatec word for “year,” but both LC and calendar round “years” seem to have sometimes been called haab. Baktun is only a plausible Yucatec name. Linda Schele noted that the phonetic value of the symbol form of the baktun glyph is pi. The ISIG glyph has recently been read tzik haab’, “the count of years.”

Notice that the only exception to multiplying by twenty is at the tun level, where the uinal period is instead multiplied by 18 to make the 360-day tun. The Maya employed this counting system to track an unbroken sequence of days from the time it was inaugurated. The Mayan scholar Munro Edmonson believes that the Long Count was put in place around 355 B.C. This may be so, but the oldest Long Count date as yet found corresponds to 32 B.C. We find Long Count dates in the archeological record beginning with the baktun place value and separated by dots. For example: 6.19.19.0.0 equals 6 baktuns, 19 katuns, 19 tuns, 0 uinals and 0 days. Each baktun has 144000 days, each katun has 7200 days, and so on. If we add up all the values we find that 6.19.19.0.0 indicates a total of 1007640 days have elapsed since the Zero Date of 0.0.0.0.0. The much discussed 13-baktun cycle is completed 1872000 days (13 baktuns) after 0.0.0.0.0. This period of time is the so called Mayan “Great Cycle” of the Long Count and equals 5125.36 years.

But how are we to relate this to a time frame we can understand? How does this Long Count relate to our Gregorian calendar? This problem of correlating Mayan time with “western” time has occupied Mayan scholars since the beginning. The standard question to answer became: what does 0.0.0.0.0 (the Long Count “beginning” point) equal in the Gregorian calendar? When this question is answered, archeological inscriptions can be put into their proper historical context and the end date of the 13-baktun cycle can be calculated. After years of considering data from varied fields such as astronomy, ethnography, archeology and iconography, J. Eric S. Thompson determined that 0.0.0.0.0 corresponded to the Julian date 584283, which equals August 11th, 3114 B.C. in our Gregorian calendar. This means that the end date of 13.0.0.0.0, some 5125 years later, is December 21st, 2012 A.D.1

The relationship between the Long Count and Short Count has always been internally consistent (both were tracked alongside each other in an unbroken sequence since their conception). Now it is very interesting to note that an aspect of the “Short Count”, namely, the sacred tzolkin count of 260 days, is still being followed in the highlands of Guatemala. As the Mayan scholar Munro Edmonson shows in The Book of the Year, this last surviving flicker of a calendar tradition some 3000 years old supports the Thompson correlation of 584283. Edmonson also states that the Long Count was begun by the Maya or pre-Maya around 355 B.C., but there is reason to believe that the Long Count system was being perfected for at least 200 years prior to that date.

The point of interest for these early astronomers seems to have been the projected end date in 2012 A.D., rather than the beginning date in 3114 B.C. Having determined the end date in 2012 (for reasons we will come to shortly), and calling it 13.0.0.0.0, they thus proclaimed themselves to be living in the 6th baktun of the Great Cycle. The later Maya certainly attributed much mythological significance to the beginning date, relating it to the birth of their deities, but it now seems certain that the placement of the Long Count hinges upon its calculated end point. Why did early Mesoamerican sky watchers pick a date some 2300 years into the future and, in fact, how did they pinpoint an accurate winter solstice? With all these considerations one begins to suspect that, for some reason, the ancient New World astronomers were tracking precession.

The Precession

The precession of the equinoxes, also known as the Platonic Year, is caused by the slow wobbling of the earth’s polar axis. Right now this axis roughly points to Polaris, the “Pole Star,” but these changes slowly over long periods of time. The earth’s wobble causes the position of the seasonal quarters to slowly process against the background of stars. For example, right now, the winter solstice position is in the constellation of Sagittarius. But 2000 years ago it was in Capricorn. Since then, it has processed backward almost one full sign. It is generally thought that the Greek astronomer Hipparchus was the first to discover precession around 128 B.C. Yet scholarship indicates that more ancient Old World cultures such as the Egyptians and Babylonians also knew about the precession.

I have concluded that even cultures with simple horizon astronomy and oral records passed down for a hundred years or so, would notice the slow shifting of the heavens. For example, imagine that you lived in an environment suited for accurately demarcated horizon astronomy. Even if this wasn’t the case, you might erect monoliths to sight the horizon position of, most likely, the dawning winter solstice sun. This position in relation to background stars could be accurately preserved in oral verse or wisdom teachings, to be passed down for centuries. Since precession will change this position at the rate of 1 degree every 72 years, within the relatively short time of 100 years or so, a noticeable change will have occurred. The point of this is simple. To early cultures attuned to the subtle movements of the sky, precession would not have been hard to notice.

The Details of the Calanders

The numbers before the day and month names in the Java calendar designate the date in each of the two Mayan calendars. The Mayans used two calendars running simultaneously.

The first is the religious calendar year of 260 days (numbers 1-13 X 20 day names).

The second is the solar calendar year of 365 days (20 days per month X18 months + 5 days in Uayeb). Uayeb is an unlucky period of the year used to synchronize the calendar with the sun. It was a period of many rituals and great sacrifices.

Together, the two calendars name the unique date in a 52 year cycle called the “Calendar Round.”

The second set of numbers, #.#.#.#.#, is called the Long Count date. It is a day by day count of days since the beginning of time for the Mayans.

The procession of numbers though the long count is much like an odometer, the numbers increasing in value from right to left, and the rollers counting through the following numbers: (0-12).(0-19).(0-19).(0-17).(0-20)

For example, 7/28/98 which has a long count value of 12.19.05.07.00 would be calculated
(12*144000) + (19*7200) + (5*360) + (7*20) + (0*1) to find out the number of days since this calendar has been running. This happens to be 1866740 days or about 5000 years. This is a very ancient calendar.

Solar Sun Calander (Below)

The Maya are not generally credited with knowing about the precession of the equinoxes. But considering everything else we know about the amazing sophistication of Mesoamerican astronomy, can we realistically continue to deny them this? Many of the as yet undeciphered hieroglyphs may ultimately describe processional myths. Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies, the Long Count is perfectly suited for predicting future seasonal quarters, indefinitely, and precession is automatically accounted for. Some of the most incredible aspects of Mayan cosmo-conception are just now being discovered. As was the case with the state of Egyptology in the 1870’s, we still have a lot to learn. In addition, Mayanists like Gordon Brothers ton (The Book of the Fourth World) considers processional knowledge among Mesoamerican cultures to be more than likely.

The Sacred Tree

We are still trying to answer these questions: What is so important about the winter solstice of 2012 and, exactly how were calculations made so accurately, considering that precession should make them exceedingly difficult?

If we make a standard horoscope chart for December 21st, 2012 A.D., nothing very unusual appears. In this way I was led astray in my search until Linda Schele provided a clue. Probably the most exciting breakthrough is her identification of the astronomical meaning of the Mayan Sacred Tree. Drawing from an impressive amount of iconographic evidence, and generously sharing the process by which she arrived at her discovery, the Sacred Tree is found to be none other than the crossing point of the ecliptic with the band of the Milky Way. Indeed, the Milky Way seems to have played an important role in Mayan imagery. For example, an incised bone from 8th century Tikal depicts a long sinking canoe containing various deities. This is a picture of the night sky and the canoe is the Milky Way, sinking below the horizon as the night progresses, and carrying with it deities representing the nearby constellations. The incredible Mayan site of Palanquin is filled with Sacred Tree motifs and references to astronomical events suggested that the Sacred Tree referred to the ecliptic. Apparently that was only part of the picture, for the Sacred Tree that Pacal ascends in death is more than just the ecliptic, it is the sacred doorway to the underworld. The crossing point of Milky Way and ecliptic is this doorway and represents the sacred source and origin. In the following diagram of the well known sarcophagus carving, notice that the Milky Way tree serves as an extension of Pacal’s umbilicus. The umbilicus is a human being’s entrance into life, and entrance into death as well:

Chart 1.

Here is a full view of the sky at noon on December 21st, 2012 A.D. The band of the Milky Way can be seen stretching from the lower right to the upper left. The more or less vertical dotted line indicates the Galactic Equator. The planets can be seen tracing a roughly horizontal path through the chart, indicating the ecliptic. The sun, quite strikingly, is dead center in the Sacred Tree. Let’s look closer.

Chart 3.

The field is now reduced to a 5-degree span, what astrology considers to be within conjunction. The dot to the lower right of the sun is the star 4 Sgr. Amazingly, the Sun is right on target. We couldn’t have hoped for a closer conjunction. 1 day before or after will remove the sun a noticeable distance from the crossing point. December 21st, 2012 (13.0.0.0.0 in the Long Count) therefore represents an extremely close conjunction of the winter solstice sun with the crossing point of Galactic Equator and the ecliptic, what the ancient Maya recognized as the Sacred Tree. It is critical to understand that the winter solstice sun rarely conjuncts the Sacred Tree. In fact, this is an event that has been coming to resonance very slowly over thousands and thousands of years. What this might mean astrologically, how this might effect the “energy weather” on earth, must be treated as a separate topic.

But I should at least mention in passing that this celestial convergence appears to parallel the accelerating pace of human civilization. It should be noted that because precession is a very slow process, similar astronomical alignments will be evident on the winter solstice dates within perhaps 5 years on either side of 2012. However, the accuracy of the conjunction of 2012 is quite astounding, beyond anything deemed calculable by the ancient Maya, and serves well to represent the perfect mid-point of the process.

Let’s go back to the dawn of the Long Count and try to reconstruct what may have been happening.

Why

: Winter Solstice Sun Conjuncts the Sacred Tree in 2012 A.D.

First, the tzolkin count originated among the Olmec at least as early as 679 B.C. (see Edmondson’s Book of the Year). We may suspect that astronomical observations were being made from at least that point. The tzolkin count has been followed unbroken since at least that time, up to the present day, demonstrating the high premium placed by the Maya upon continuity of tradition. In this way, star records, horizon positions of the winter solstice sun, and other pertinent observations could also have been accurately preserved. As suggested above, precession can be noticed by way of even simple horizon astronomy in as little time as 100 to 150 years. (Hipparchus, the alleged “discoverer” of precession among the Greeks, compared his own observations with data collected only 170 years before his time.) Following Edmonson, the Long Count system may have appeared as early as 355 B.C. Part of the reason for implementing the Long Count system, as I will show, was probably to calculate future winter solstice dates.

We must assume that even at this early point in Mesoamerican history, the crossing point of ecliptic and Milky Way was understood as the “Sacred Tree”. Since the Sacred Tree concept is intrinsically tied into the oldest Mayan Creation Myths, this is not improbable. At the very least, the “dark rift” was already a recognized feature. Early sky watchers of this era (355 B.C.) would then observe the sun to conjunct the dark ridge in the Milky Way on or around November 18th.5 this would be easily observed in the pre-dawn sky as described above: the Milky Way points to the rising sun on this date.

Over a relatively short period of time, as an awareness of precession was emerging, this date was seen to slowly approach winter solstice, a critical date in its own right in early Mayan cosmo-conception. At this point, precession and the rate of precession was calculated, the Long Count was perfected and inaugurated, and the appropriate winter solstice date in 2012 A.D. was found via the Long Count in the following way.

How:

Long Count and Seasonal Quarters

Long Count Katun beginnings will conjunct sequential seasonal quarters every 1.7.0.0.0 days (194400 days). This is an easily tracked Long Count interval. Starting with the katun beginning of 650 B.C.:

Long Count Which Quarter? Year

6.5.0.0.0 Fall 650 B.C.

7.12.0.0.0 Winter 118 B.C.

8.19.0.0.0 Spring 416 A.D.

10.6.0.0.0 Summer 948 A.D.

11.13.0.0.0 Fall 1480 A.D.

13.0.0.0.0 Winter 2012 A.D.

Note

that the last date is not only a katun beginning, but a baktun beginning as well. It is, indeed, the end date of 2012.6

The Long Count may have been officially inaugurated on a specific date in 355 B.C., as Edmonson suggests, but it must have been formulated, tried, tested, and proven before this date. This may well have taken centuries, and the process no doubt paralleled (and was perhaps instigated by) the discovery of precession. The Long Count system automatically accounts for precession in its ability to calculate future seasonal quarters – a property which shouldn’t be underestimated.

Mayan Zodiac Signs

Mayans Zodic Singns (Above) Original Mayan Calander( below)

glyphic tex Above Picture]

“The Maya knew the exact length of the true solar year as 365.2420 days, that is, with a minus error of 0.0002, while our present Gregorian calendar has it at 365.2425, or a plus error of 0.0003.”

Maya astronomers determined astronomical constants with remarkable accuracy. In our technological age, their feats seems incredible, if not impossible, without telescopes, clocks and measuring devices. But we have forgotten what can be achieved by careful naked eye observation using simple instruments, or even no instruments at all.

Maya sky watchers used methods similar to those of other ancient astronomers. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy would have understood and appreciated the star craft of a Maya scribe from Copan. What was required, above all else, was careful observation over long periods of time.

Only four Maya glyph books, called codices, survive. They are painted on lime-whitened bark paper, folded accordion-style. The codices were likely produced in the late post-Classical period (1200-1519 AD). Some material in the codices , including astronomical tables, appears to have been copied or adapted from manuscripts of the Classical period (200 – 900 AD). The long count entry date of the Dresden Codex eclipse table, for example, correlates to 755 AD. This may date the original version of the table.

Admiring statements about the accuracy of Maya astronomy (like Gates’ quoted above) may distort what the Maya were trying to achieve. They were not interested in accuracy for its own sake, and had nothing like the modern notion of standard deviation to serve as a benchmark of accuracy. Like many peoples, they wanted to be able to predict future astronomical events to time rituals and make auguries. They needed reasonably good measures of such things as the lunar month and the period of Venus to do so, but the accuracy of a modern ephemeris would not have been required for this purpose.

But there is another aspect of Maya sacred astronomy that was almost unique among civilizations at a similar level of technology. The Maya were intensely interested in making astronomical cycles commensurate with their calendar. They carried out observations over long periods of time to fit astronomical and calendrical cycles together. The eclipse table in the Dresden Codex is not carried out 11,960 days to achieve extreme accuracy, but because nothing less than 405 lunations can be fitted into a whole number of 260 day.

tzolk’in

cycles. The Venus table is carried out even further, but only to ensure that it runs from a tzolk’in date of 1 Ahaw to another occurrence of 1 Ahaw on a day when Venus again rises with the sun.

Maya measurements of the Venus and Mars cycles come, like the measurement of the lunar month, from the Dresden Codex. The Venus table in the Codex records heliacal rise (when Venus rises with the Sun) at 594 day intervals. However, the table has a built-in mechanism for correcting this approximation that leads to the figure of 593. 93 days listed above. The Mars table records the period of the planet as 780 days, and appears to contain no method of correction

So while the values of the lunar month, Venus period, and tropical year implied by Maya records are more accurate than those calculated by Ptolemy using Greek and Babylonian records, the difference was dictated by the Maya calendar, not a scientific desire for high accuracy. The Maya measurement of the synodic period of Mars is quite good, but not as accurate as the Greeks’. Mars’ period is almost exactly three tzolk’in cycles, which required only a bit more than two years of observation to fit into the calendar. The short period of observation required to make a good match with the calendar produced a measure of Mars’ period less accurate than the estimates of lunar and Venus periods.In fact, there are cases in which the scribes sacrificed accuracy to the demands of ritual. For example, while the length of the Venus period from heliacal rise to heliacal rise is very accurate, the Codex is not nearly as accurate in recording the time between other “stations” of the planet. But since the accuracy with which the scribes determined the mean synodic period proves they were skilled Venusian observers, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that they deliberately altered the length of apparitions.

It is likely that the Venus table was adjusted so that the auguries for the beginning of each apparition would be consistent with established auguries for days in the tzol’kin. The table is contrived to bring the apparition dates as close to observation as possible while retaining the required links with the tzolk’in.This should not diminish respect for Maya astronomers, but it does put their achievement in proper context. The Maya regarded time as a meshing of sacred cycles. Their astronomy was a monumental effort to encompass the motions of the heavens in a mathematically perfect system. Its purpose was ritual and augury, not scientific description in the modern sense

The fullest surviving account of Creation is found in the post-Conquest Popol Vuh of the Quiche people of Guatemala. The oldest evidence is from monuments at Izapa and other pre-Classical sites (400 BC- 200 AD). Many of the incidents recounted in the Popol Vuh parallel scenes on painted ceramics of the Classical period (200-900 AD). The Temple of the Cross at Palenque and other Classical inscriptions report the events of Creation, though in a condensed, sometimes cryptic manner.

These sources do not always agree in detail. Nevertheless, they show a remarkable continuity in the Maya conception of the cosmos over two millennia of history.

Right: Izapa World Tree (Stela 25). The crocodile represents the Earth, its hills symbolized by the rough skin of the reptile, a characteristic shared with the bark of the ceiba tree.

At the centre of every traditional Maya dwelling is household hearth, a triangle of three stones. The hearthstones have a sacred as well as utilitarian function. Maya rituals often begin with the centring of the four quarters of the world about the ritual precints. Household rituals are centred on the hearthstones. The Earth-Sky, the dwelling place of humans, is centred on a cosmic hearth, from which the World Tree first rose. The Popol Vuh hints at the importance of the hearth: When the wooden people were destroyed by flood, “their hearthstones were shooting out, coming right out of the fire . . . Such was the scattering of the human work, the human design.” An essential step in the reordering of the world after the deluge was the setting of the hearth stones of the new world. Toward dawn on the night of Aug 13, the constellation Orion moves toward the zenith. The Quiche people still refer to a triad of three bright stars in Orion as “the hearth stones”, and the hazy nebula below Orion’s belt is called “the smoke from the hearth”. Orion is also called the turtle stars (ak’ ek), depicted in the Madrid Codex as a turtle with three tun (“stone”) glyphs on its back. Because the sky has not yet been raised, the hearth is a location in both earth and sky. The turtle shell is an earth symbol, like the back of the crocodile at the foot of the World Tree. Here is the place of Creation, where the sky will rise again.

542 days after the lying down sky was manifested, Hun-Nal-Ye [Maize God], the First Father, entered the sky at the First Three Stone- Place. On 13 Ik, the last day of Mol, he made proper the Wakah Chan [Raised up-Sky] place (Temple of the Cross) [

At dawn on the night of August 13, the Milky Way is almost erect. The scribes who designed Quirigua Stela C appear to have been content to end their account of Creation here. The text ends with a brief reference to the “action” or “work” of Wak-Chan-Ahaw, the “Raised- up-Sky Lord”. The Temple of the Cross at Palenque tells more about the final act of Creation, the raising of the World Tree. To set the scene, the Palenque scribes counted forward 542 days, to Febuary 5 a year and a half later. At sunset on Febuary 5, the sky has the same configuration as at dawn on the night of August 13.

About 2 hours after sunset on Febuary 5, the hearth in Orion is very near the zenith. For the Palenque scribes, this may mark the setting of the three hearth stones at the foot of the World Tree. Just after midnight, Orion sets, and two hours later, the Milky Way lies prone along the south eastern horizon. At the zenith lies a particularly dark region of the sky that Schele identifies as the Ek’-Way, the “black dream place”, a portal to the Underworld. This is literally the darkness before the dawn.

As the night progresses, the Milky Way slowly turns erect once more. At dawn, the World Tree has been raised over the world inhabited by the true humans. It now occupies the same place in the sky as it did at sun set on Aug 13, before the destruction of the old world.

This is likely the image of the sky the Palenque scribes had in mind when they carved the glyphs that tell us that Hun- Nal-Ye “entered the sky” and “made proper the Raised-up-Sky Place” on Feb 5 in 3112 BC. The god who raises the sky in the Palenque Creation story is the Maize God, Hun- Nal-Ye, “one sprout revealed”. In the Popol Vuh, the gods created true humans out of corn meal. It is the stuff of life. In one of its guises the World Tree is a corn plant. At Palenque, the cosmic World Tree is paired with another, the “Foliated Cross”, with images of the Maize God’s head in its branches, like cobs of corn.

Summary

This has been my attempt to fill a vacuum in Mayan Studies, an answer to the why and how of the end date of the 13-baktun cycle of the Mayan Long Count. The solution requires a shift in how we think about the astronomy of the Long Count end date. The strange fact that it occurs on a winter solstice immediately points us to possible astronomical reasons, but they are not obvious. We also shouldn’t forget the often mentioned fact that the 13-baktun cycle of some 5125 years is roughly 1/5th of a processional cycle. This in itself should have been suggestive of a deeper mystery very early on. Only with the recent identification of the astronomical nature of the Sacred Tree has the puzzle revealed its fullness. And once again we are amazed at the sophistication and vision of the ancient New World astronomers, the descendants of whom still count the days and watch the skies in the remote outback’s of Guatemala.

This essay is not contrived upon sketchy evidence. It basically rests upon two facts:

1) The well known end date of the 13-baktun cycle of the Mayan Long Count, which is December 21st, 2012 A.D. and

2) The astronomical situation on that day. Based upon these two facts alone, the creators of the Long Count knew about and calculated the rate of precession over 2300 years ago. I can conceive of no other conclusion. To explain this away as “coincidence” would only obscure the issue.

For early Mesoamerican sky watchers, the slow approach of the winter solstice sun to the Sacred Tree was seen as a critical process, the culmination of which was surely worthy of being called 13.0.0.0.0, the end of a World Age. The channel would then be open through the winter solstice doorway, up the Sacred Tree, the Xibalba be , to the center of the churning heavens, the Heart of Sky.

2004 and 2012 Transits of

Venus

Transits of Venus across the disk of the Sun are among the rarest of planetary alignments. Indeed, only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882). The next two transits of Venus will occur on 2004 June 08 and 2012 June 06.

The principal events occurring during a transit are characterized by contacts. The event begins with contact I which is the instant when the planet’s disk is externally tangent with the Sun. The entire disk of the Venus is first seen at contact II when the planet is internally tangent with the Sun. During the next several hours, Venus gradually traverses the solar disk at a relative angular rate of approximately 4 arc-min/hr. At contact III, the planet reaches the opposite limb and is once again internally tangent with the Sun. The transit ends at contact IV when the planet’s limb is externally tangent to the Sun. Contacts I and II define the phase called ingress while contacts III and IV are known as egress. Greatest transit is the instant of minimum angular separation between Venus and the Sun as seen from Earth’s geocenter.(Low Res or High Res) illustrates the geocentric observing geometry of each transit across the Sun (celestial north is up). The 2004 transit crosses the Sun’s southern hemisphere while the 2012 event crosses the northern hemisphere. The position of Venus at each contact is shown along with its path as a function of Universal Time. Each transit lasts over six hours. The apparent semi-diameters of Venus and the Sun are 29 arc-seconds and 945 arc-seconds respectively. This 1:32.6 diameter ratio results in an effective 0.001 magnitude drop in the Sun’s integrated magnitude due to the transit. Geocentric contact times and instant of greatest transit appear to the left corners of (Low Res or High Res).

Geographic Visibility of 2004 June 08

The global visibility of the 2004 transit is illustrated with the world map in Figure 2 (Low Res or High Res). The entire transit (all four contacts) is visible from Europe, Africa (except western parts), Middle East, and most of Asia (except eastern parts). The Sun sets while the transit is still in progress from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, easternmost China and Southeast Asia. Similarly, the Sun rises with the transit already in progress for observers in western Africa, eastern North America, the Caribbean and most of South America. None of the transit will be visible from southern Chile or Argentina, western North America, Hawaii or New Zealand.

The horizontal parallax of Venus (~ 30 arc-secs) introduces a topocentric correction of up to ±7 minutes with respect to the geocentric contact times for observers at different geographic locations. Topocentric contact times (Universal Time) and corresponding altitudes of the Sun are presented for over one hundred cities in Geographic Visibility of 2012 June 06

The global visibility of the 2012 transit is (Low Res or High Res). The entire transit (all four contacts) is visible from northwestern North America, Hawaii, the western Pacific, northern Asia, Japan, Korea, eastern China, Philippines, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. The Sun sets while the transit is still in progress from most of North America, the Caribbean, and northwest South America. Similarly, the transit is already in progress at sunrise for observers in central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and eastern Africa,. No portion of the transit will be visible from Portugal or southern Spain, western Africa, and the southeastern 2/3 of South America.

Frequency of Transits

Transits of Venus are only possible during early December and early June when Venus’s orbital nodes pass across the Sun. If Venus reaches inferior conjunction at this time, a transit will occur. Transits show a clear pattern of recurrence at intervals of 8, 121.5, 8 and 105.5 years. The next pair of Venus transits occur over a century from now on 2117 Dec 11 and 2125 Dec 08.

Edmund Halley first realized that transits of Venus could be used to measure the Sun’s distance, thereby establishing the absolute scale of the solar system from Kepler’s third law. Unfortunately, his method proved impractical since contact timings of the desired accuracy are impossible due to the effects of atmospheric seeing and diffraction. Nevertheless, the 1761 and 1769 expeditions to observe the transits of Venus gave astronomers their first good value for the Sun’s distance.

The planet Mercury can also transit the Sun. Since Mercury orbits the Sun more quickly than does Venus, it undergoes transits much more frequently. There are about 13 or 14 transits of Mercury each century. All Mercury transits fall within several days of 8 May and 10 November. During November transits, Mercury is near perihelion and exhibits a disk only 10 arc-seconds in diameter. By comparison, the planet is near aphelion during May transits and appears 12 arc-seconds across. However, the probability of a May transit is smaller by a factor of almost two. Mercury’s slower orbital motion at aphelion makes it less likely to cross the node during the critical period. November transits recur at intervals of 7, 13, or 33 years while May transits recur only over the latter two intervals. The next two transits of Mercury are on 2003 May 07 , 2006 and Nov 2008.

The sky on December 21st, 2012 A.D. showing a rare astronomical alignment – The winter solstice sun is right in the “dark rift” in the Milky Way.The Milky Way Galaxy is the inspiration for the symbol of the Ouroboros. Myth refers to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Milky Way is this serpent, and viewed at galactic central point near sagittarius, this serpent eats its own tail

the Solar Eclipse on May 20 2012 shows the planatery positions see below

In 2012 the centre of the Galaxy is at 0 degree of the Western zodiacal sign Capricorn. 0 degree Capricorn is the point of the zodiac where the Sun is during the December solstice.

At December 21, 11.12 GMT during the December solstice the Sun is at the exact centre of the Galaxy. According to the Mayas the center of the Galaxy is the cosmic womb: the place of dead, transformation, regeneration and rebirth. This moment shows the end of their calendar.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ASTROLOGICAL CHART
The Sun is at 0 degrees Capricorn, the point of the December solstice. It makes a sextile to Neptune, right at the beginning of Pisces. This is an almost exact sextile. The orb is less then half a degree. This aspect can point towards a spiritual experience, a loss or both.

The most important configuration is a yod which we find in the chart. This is also called the Finger of God. It looks like an arrow in the chart and it indicates change and transformations. .

The yod consists of:
1. A quincunx (150 degree aspect) between Jupiter and Pluto.

2. A quincunx between Jupiter and Saturn.

3. A central opposition (180 degree aspect) made between Jupiter and the Mercury/Venus conjunction.

The two quincunxes are almost exact, they have an orb of less then half a degree. In fact the quincunx between Jupiter and Pluto is exact at December 21 2012.

THE MEANING OF THE ASTROLOGICAL CHART

Pluto is the planet of radical transformation, death and rebirth.

Saturn is the planet of the earthly realm and of learning experiences, especially those of a more painful nature.

Jupiter is the planet of expansion. It is the focus of the yod, the planet which receives the strong energy of the other planets involved. It also expands the energy of the other planets involved (especially Saturn and Pluto).
This yod indicates transformational processes which can be painful for many.

Jupiter has a central place in this because it is the focal point of the energy. This indicates changes in our religious systems, beliefs, philosophical systems. These fall under Jupiter.

Another notable configuration is the T-square with Neptune as focal point:
Jupiter makes a square (90 degree aspect) to Neptune.
Neptune makes a square to Venus.
Venus opposes Jupiter, this is the central opposition that activates the yod.
Therefore Neptune, the planet of spirituality, ascension, confusion and floods is a cruxial planet in this chart.

Keep Reading as My Research is Going on to find the truth behind december 21-12-2012 Mayans Calander.

By Rohit Sharma

The tzolk’in is a cycle of 260 days. Each day in the cycle is identified by both a day number and a day name glyph. The tzolk’in date in this example is a day 3 Ahaw. Thirteen day numbers and 20 day names were used. The sequence of day names is Imix, Ik, Ak’bal, K’an, Chikchan, Kimi, Manik’, Lamat, Muluk’, Ok, Chuwan, Eb, Ben, Ix, Men, Kib, Kaban, Etz’nab, Kawak, Ahaw. The day before 3 Ahaw is 2 Kawak. On the day after 3 Ahaw, the sequence of 20 day names begins again, with 4 Imix. The day numbers continue to increase to 13, then revert to 1. Thus counting ten days from 3 Ahaw, the day 13 Ok is reached. It is followed by 1 Chuwan.

Because 13 x 20 = 260, each day in the tzolk’in cycle has a unique name-number combination. The day 3 Ahaw repeats only after 260 days. This system may seem rather complicated, but it is really little different than combining week day names with the day of the month in our system. Thus, for example “Tuesday the 31st” might be followed by “Wednesday the lst.”

The haab is a 365 day year. Since the Maya often aligned buildings to sunrise on the solstices, it is clear that they were aware that the solar year is not exactly 365 days long. The haab was likely set to 365 days to make it more easily commensurate with other calendrical cycles. The haab was divided into 18 named months (winals), each 20 days long, with a 5 day period at year end, the Wayeb, during which New Year rituals were performed. A haab date combines the day of the month with the month name. In this example, the date is 13 Yaxk’in. The Yucatec names of the months are: Pop, Wo, Sip, Sotz’, Sek, Xul, Yaxk’in, Mol, Ch’en, Yax, Sak, Seh, K’ank’in, Muan, Pax, K’ayeb, Kumk’u. The name glyphs, ending with the Wayeb glyph, are illustrated in order at the right.

The post-Classical Maya numbered the days of the month from 1 to 20, but in Classical inscriptions, the last day of the month was written as the day on which the new month was “seated” (chum). Thus the last day of Yaxk’in was usually written as chum Mol, rather than as 20 Yaxk’in. This amounts to taking chum Mol as the first day of Mol, and numbering the days of the month from 0 (chum) to 19.

The tzolk’in and haab dates. The lowest common multiple of the 260 days in the tzolk’in and 365 days in the haab is 18980. This is 52 haab, just short of 52 years in our calendar. Thus a combined tzolk’in and haab date repeats only after this lapse of time.

The calendar round was the longest calendrical period recorded by the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples outside the Maya zone. Only the Maya and their pre-Classical predecessors kept the long count that fixes a date unequivocally in time.

Solar System – Did you notice? In February 2001, the Sun did a magnetic polar shift. The next one is due again in 2012. NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say that our star’s awesome magnetic field flipped 22 months ago, signaling the arrival of a solar maximum. But it wasn’t so obvious to the average human.

The Sun’s magnetic north pole, which was in the northern hemisphere just a few months ago, now points south. It’s a topsy-turvy situation, but not an unexpected one. “This always happens around the time of solar maximum,” says David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight Center. “The magnetic poles exchange places at the peak of the sunspot cycle. In fact, it’s a good indication that Solar Max is really here.”

The Sun’s magnetic poles will remain as they are now, with the north magnetic pole pointing through the Sun’s southern hemisphere, until the year 2012 when they will reverse again. This transition happens, as far as we know, at the peak of every 11-year sunspot cycle — like clockwork.

Earth’s magnetic field also flips, but with less regularity. Consecutive reversals are spaced 5 thousand years to 50 million years apart. The last reversal happened 740,000 years ago. Some researchers think our planet is overdue for another one, but nobody knows exactly when the next reversal might occur.

Although solar and terrestrial magnetic fields behave differently, they do have something in common: their shape. During solar minimum the Sun’s field, like Earth’s, resembles that of an iron bar magnet, with great closed loops near the equator and open field lines near the poles. Scientists call such a field a “dipole.” The Sun’s dipolar field is about as strong as a refrigerator magnet, or 50 gauss (a unit of magnetic intensity). Earth’s magnetic field is 100 times weaker.

When solar maximum arrives and sunspots pepper the face of the Sun, our star’s magnetic field begins to change. Sunspots are places where intense magnetic loops — hundreds of times stronger than the ambient dipole field — poke through the photosphere.

“Meridional flows on the Sun’s surface carry magnetic fields from mid-latitude sunspots to the Sun’s poles,” explains Hathaway. “The poles end up flipping because these flows transport south-pointing magnetic flux to the north magnetic pole, and north-pointing flux to the south magnetic pole.” The dipole field steadily weakens as oppositely-directed flux accumulates at the Sun’s poles until, at the height of solar maximum, the magnetic poles change polarity and begin to grow in a new direction.

Hathaway noticed the latest polar reversal in a “magnetic butterfly diagram.” Using data collected by astronomers at the U.S. National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak, he plotted the Sun’s average magnetic field, day by day, as a function of solar latitude and time from 1975 through the present. The result is a sort of strip chart recording that reveals evolving magnetic patterns on the Sun’s surface. “We call it a butterfly diagram,” he says, “because sunspots make a pattern in this plot that looks like the wings of a butterfly.” In the butterfly diagram, pictured below, the Sun’s polar fields appear as strips of uniform color near 90 degrees latitude. When the colors change (in this case from blue to yellow or vice versa) it means the polar fields have switched signs.

The ongoing changes are not confined to the space immediately around our star, Hathaway added. The Sun’s magnetic field envelops the entire solar system in a bubble that scientists call the “heliosphere.” The heliosphere extends 50 to 100 astronomical units (AU) beyond the orbit of Pluto. Inside it is the solar system — outside is interstellar space.

“Changes in the Sun’s magnetic field are carried outward through the heliosphere by the solar wind,” explains Steve Suess, another solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight Center. “It takes about a year for disturbances to propagate all the way from the Sun to the outer bounds of the heliosphere.” Because the Sun rotates (once every 27 days) solar magnetic fields corkscrew outwards in the shape of an Archimedian spiral. Far above the poles the magnetic fields twist around like a child’s Slinky toy.

Because of all the twists and turns, “the impact of the field reversal on the heliosphere is complicated,” says Hathaway. Sunspots are sources of intense magnetic knots that spiral outwards even as the dipole field vanishes. The heliosphere doesn’t simply wink out of existence when the poles flip — there are plenty of complex magnetic structures to fill the void.

Or so the theory goes…. Researchers have never seen the magnetic flip happen from the best possible point of view — that is, from the top down. But now, the unique Ulysses spacecraft may give scientists a reality check. Ulysses, an international joint venture of the European Space Agency and NASA, was launched in 1990 to observe the solar system from very high solar latitudes. Every six years the spacecraft flies 2.2 AU over the Sun’s poles. No other probe travels so far above the orbital plane of the planets. “Ulysses just passed under the Sun’s south pole,” says Suess, a mission co-Investigator. “Now it will loop back and fly over the north pole in the fall.”

“This is the most important part of our mission,” he says. Ulysses last flew over the Sun’s poles in 1994 and 1996, during solar minimum, and the craft made several important discoveries about cosmic rays, the solar wind, and more. “Now we get to see the Sun’s poles during the other extreme: Solar Max. Our data will cover a complete solar cycle.”

Kindly Read the new updated post on 21-12-2012. what will happen on 21-12-2012 dooms day click below link to read

http://gyandotcom.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/the-reality-of-doomsday-december-21-12-2012-by-rohit-sharma/

by Rohit Sharma for Gyandotcom

The truth Behind Ramayana (New Research Update 2009) Must Read

Updated 6-6-2009

Time Concept of the Vedas
Linear Versus Cyclic Time
The modern historical scientists’ linear concept of time strikingly resembles the traditional Judaeo-Christian concept, and it strikingly differs from that of the ancient Greeks and Indians. The cosmological ideas of several prominent Greek thinkers included a cyclic or episodic time similar to that found in the Vedic literature of India.

For example, we find in Hesiod’s Works and Days a series of ages (gold, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron) similar to the Indian yugas (ages). In both systems the quality of human life becomes progressively worse with each passing age. In On Nature, Empedocles speaks of cosmic time cycles. In Plato’s dialogues, there are descriptions of revolving time and recurring catastrophes destroying or nearly destroying human civilization. Aristotle said often in his works that the arts and sciences had been discovered many times in the past. In the teachings of Plato, Pythagoras, and Empedocles on the transmigration of the soul, the cyclical pattern extends to individual psycho-physical existence.

When Judaeo-Christian civilization arose in Europe, another understanding of time became prominent — time going forward in a straight line. Broadly speaking, this concept of time involves a unique act of cosmic creation, a unique appearance of human beings, and a unique history of salvation, culminating in a unique denouement, the last judgment. The drama occurs only once. Individually, the life of a human being mirrors this process; so, with some exceptions, orthodox Christian theologians rejected transmigration of the soul.

Modern historical sciences share the basic Judaeo-Christian assumptions about time. The universe we inhabit is a unique occurrence: Humans arose once on this planet; the history of our ancestors followed a unique though unpredestined evolutionary pathway; and the collapse of the “Big Bang” universe will bring everything to a close.

One is tempted to propose that the modern account of human evolution is a Judaeo-Christian heresy that covertly retains fundamental structures of Judaeo-Christian cosmology, eschatology, and salvation history while overtly dispensing with the scriptural account of divine intervention in the origin of species, including our own.

The Vedic Calculation of Time: The Vedic concept of time is cyclic, rotating in cycles of four yugas:

Satya-yuga: 1,728,000 human years
Treta-yuga: 1,296,000 human years
Dvapara-yuga: 864,000 human years
Kali-yuga: 432,000 human years

This yuga cycle totaling 4.32 million years is also called a maha- or divya-yuga. One thousand such cycles, 4.32 billion years, make up one day of Lord Brahma, the demigod who governs the universe. Such a day of Brahma is called a kalpa. Each of Brahma’s nights lasts as long as his day. Life is manifest on earth only during the day of Brahma. With the onset of Brahma’s night, the entire universe is devastated and plunged into darkness. When another day of Brahma begins, life again becomes manifest.

Each kalpa (day of Brahma) is divided into 14 manvantara periods, each lasting 71 yuga cycles. Preceding the first and following each manvantara period is a junction (sandhya and sandhyamsa respectively) the length of a Satya-yuga (1,728,000 years). Each manvantara period ends with a partial devastation and starts with a partial recreation of the universe.

Brahma lives 100 years, consisting of 360 days and nights (the Vedic year is based on the cycles of the moon, not the sun). Thus Brahma lives 100 x 360 kalpas = 36,000 days plus 36,000 nights. In human years, Brahma’s life span lies far beyond our power of imagination: 72,000 x 4,320,000,000 human years = 311,040,000,000,000 human years.

The life span of Brahma is identical with the duration of the universe. This time span, called a maha-kalpa, is also the duration of one breathing in and out of Maha-Vishnu, the Personality of Godhead. Maha-Vishnu lies down within the ocean of causality and sleeps. He is eternal, and He dreams the material world in His cosmic slumber. When He exhales, all the universes emanate from the pores of His skin, and a Brahma is born within each universe. When He inhales, Brahma dies, and He sucks the universes into His mouth and destroys them. With each exhalation, the entire process starts anew. This cycle goes on eternally and is therefore also called eternal time.

The four yugas can also be calculated in demigod years:

Satya-yuga: 4,800 demigod years
Treta-yuga: 3,600 demigod years
Dvapara-yuga: 2,400 demigod years
Kali-yuga : 1,200 demigod years

Each six months of human time is one day for the demigods, and another six months is one night. When the sun is in the southern side of the universe (summer in the Southern Hemisphere), the demons have day and demigods have night, and vice versa when the sun is in the Northern Hemisphere. One of our years is one of their days, and 360 of our years is one of their years.

Most demigods maintain their positions within the universe for the duration of one manvantara (age of Manu). Because the demigods live for one day of Brahma, they change their positions each manvantara and become other demigods. Since 14 manvantaras (14 Manus) reign in one day of Brahma, a total of 14 x 360 x 100 = 504,000 Manus and demigods change shifts in the lifetime of Brahma.

The Four Yugas :

The Vedic Puranas describe the four yugas as follows:

Satya-yuga, or the golden age, is the ideal age, characterized by virtue, wisdom, religion, and practically no vice or ignorance. Humans do not hate or envy each other, nor do they ever feel anxious, fearful or threatened. They solely worship the one Supreme Personality of Godhead, hear the one Veda, obey the one law, and practice the one religious process — meditation on the Supreme. People live for about 100,000 years.

In Treta-yuga vice is introduced. The good qualities that humans had in Satya-yuga reduce by one third. People introduce religious rites, sacrifices, and ceremonies. They start to act with fruitive desires, expecting a reward for their work and religious activities. They live for a maximum of 10,000 years.

In Dvapara-yuga uprightness is only half of what it was in Satya-yuga. The Vedas are divided into four parts, and only a few people study them. Sensual desires and diseases begin to well up, and injustice spreads in human civilization. People live for a maximum of 1000 years.

In Kali-yuga only one fourth of human uprightness remains and gradually reduces to nil as the age progresses. We now live in Kali-yuga, the iron age, the most degraded of the four ages (kali literally means “quarrel and hypocrisy”).

In this age men are short lived and have less intelligence. They are especially lazy in performing their spiritual duties and exceedingly slow to surrender to the Lord. They are misled, frustrated and, above all, always disturbed. The qualities of religion (truthfulness, cleanliness, forbearance and mercy) and the qualities of life (intelligence, duration of life and bodily strength and beauty) all diminish. The maximum duration of human life is 100 years, and even that is rare.

Where We Are Now

According to the Vedic scriptures, we are now in the first day of the second half of the life of Brahma (even he gets old, and he is now 50). Within this day of Brahma, we are in the seventh manvantara (of Vaivasvata Manu), in the 28th turnover of its 71 yuga cycles.

Modern astronomy calculates the beginning of the present Kali-yuga at 2:27a.m. on February 20th in the year 3102 B.C.

Man has been on the earth a lot longer than generally accepted. Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka.It has been believed that there is no evidence to determine the dates of events in the Ramayanic era. Some historians of the past even refuse to acknowledge that Rama and other characters from the Ramayana even existed. However, Sage Valmiki has recorded the dates if events in detail, albeit by describing the positions of stars and planets. To decipher the astronomical encodings has not been a trivial task, and not many have attempted to do so. It should be noted that the ancient Indians had a prefect method of time measurement. They recorded the ‘tithis‘, days according to the nakshatra on which the moon prevailed, the months, the seasons and even the different Solstices. By therefore noting a particular arrangement of the astronomical bodies, which occur once in many thousand years, the dates of the events can be calculated. The correct astronomical records goes to show that Valmiki’s has chronicled an account of a true story and also, that the an advanced time measurement system was known to the Hindus (Indians) atleast 9000 years ago.

The recently discovered bridge is made of a chain of shoals 18 miles long. The bridge’s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. Legends as well as archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge’s age is also almost equivalent.

This information confirms the mysterious legend of the Ramayana, recorded to have taken place in the Treta Yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago). At that time the inhabitants in the world were much more spiritual than they are today.

THE SCIENTIFIC DATING OF THE MAHABHARAT and RAMAYANA WAR (16th OCTOBER 5562 B.C.)

(by Gyandotcom )

SOME FACTS.

MAHABHARAT, RAMAYAN ARE NOT MYTHOLOGY BUT HISTORY OF VEDIC PEOPLE, I.E. INDIANS.

THE THEORY OF ARYAN INVASION IS NOT TRUE. VEDIC CULTURE EVOLVED IN INDIA. THE THEORY WAS PROPAGATED BY BRITISH HISTORIANS TO SHOW INDIANS THAT THEY ARE INFERIOR TRIBES.

HINDU KINGS ( SOUTH INDIA) RULED OCEANS IN ALL THREE DIRECTIONS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS ( EVEN DURING EARLY STAGES OF MUSLIM INVASIONS ON NORTH INDIA ). THEY USED TO CALL THEMSELVES AS “TRISAMUDRESHWAR” MEANING, THE ONE WHO RULES THREE OCEANS. THEY RULED ISLANDS LIKE “MARICHASYA” (TODAY’S MAURITIUS) to JAVA, SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (THAT’S WHY THESE CULTURES HAVE STORIES OF RAMAYAN IN IT).

An example is the so called “Taj Mahal”. This was a monument built somewhere in 12th century B.C. by some Hindu king. After death of Mumtaj-Ul-Zamani, wife of Mughal emperor Shahajehan, Shahajehan took this palace from a king Mansing of Jaipur and converted this palace in to Today’s Taj-Mahal just by changing Hindu imprints to Holy Quran scripts.

Even in official history of Mughal (“Badshahnama”), Shahajehan has no where said that Taj Mahal was built in his tenure. It was a palace called Tejo Mahalay ( a Sanskrit name).
Read my Article on Tajmahal

Is Tajmahal Really Built by Shahjahan. Gyandotcom Revealed. read the post in gyandotcom

The Mahabharat has exercised a continuous and pervasive influence on the INDIAn mind for millennia. The Mahabharat, originally written by Sage Ved Vyas in Sanskrit, has been translated and adapted into numerous languages and has been set to a variety of interpretations. Dating back to “remote antiquity”, it is still a living force in the life of the INDIAn masses.

Incidentally, the dating of the Mahabharat War has been a matter of challenge and controversy for a century or two. European scholars have maintained that the events described in the ancient Sanskrit texts are imaginary and subsequently, the Mahabharat derived to be a fictitious tale of a war fought between two rivalries. Starting from the so- called Aryan invasion into Bharat, the current Bharatiya chronology starts from the compilation of the Rigved in 1200 B.C., then come other Ved’s, Mahaveer Jain is born, then Gautam Buddha lives around 585 B.C. and the rest follows. In the meantime, the Brahmanas, Samhitas, Puranas, etc. are written and the thought contained therein is
well-absorbed among the Hindu minds. Where does the Ramayan and Mahabharat fit in ? Some say that the Ramayan follows Mahabharat and some opine otherwise. In all this anarchy of INDIAn histography, the date of the Mahabharat (the mythical story!) ranges between 1000 B.C. to 300 B.C. Sanskrit epics were academically attacked occasionally in an attempt to disprove the authenticity of the annals noted therein. For example, the European Indologiest Maxmuller, tried the interpret the astronomical evidences to prove that the observations recorded in the history.

Q.Taj Mahal Really Built by ShahJahan? Gyandotcom revealed the Secret Behind.

This presents photographs (listed below) that show the Vedic influence found in such buildings as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, and other structures in India. It also presents photos of drawings and art that have been discovered from other parts of the world, such as Arabia, Egypt, Greece and Italy, that show a definite Vedic influence. No matter whether you accept all of this or not, it nonetheless makes for an extremely fascinating and interesting story. Take a look and decide for yourself what you think. Also, let other people know about these, or download them to print and use them for your own displays in your temple, office or home. The articles listed below are practically more important than the photographs that are supplied. So be sure to read them.We have all heard how the Taj Mahal, which is considered one of the great wonders of the world, was built as the preeminent expression of a man’s love for a wife. That it was built by emperor Shah Jahan in commemoration of his wife Mumtaz. However, in our continuous effort to get to the truth, we have acquired some very important documents and information. There is evidence that the Taj Mahal was never built by Shah Jahan. Some say the Taj Mahal pre-dates Shah Jahan by several centuries and was originally built as a Hindu or Vedic temple/palace complex. Shah Jahan merely acquired it from its previous owner, the Hindu King Jai Singh.

The point to consider is how much more of India’s history has been distorted if the background of such a grand building is so inaccurate.

These photographs listed below are taken from an album that was found in India.It is because of the manipulation of history by invaders that the true greatness of India and Vedic culture has been stifled or hidden. And it is time that people everywhere realize how numerous lies and false propaganda have been passed around as if it were the truth in regard to India and its past, as well as its art, archeology, and the wonder of its culture. India and its Vedic society

The magnificent marble edifice on the banks of the river Jamuna, in the southern part of Agra city. It is generally believed by historians and laymen alike that the building was erected as a mausoleum by the 5^th generation Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and that the period of its construction was 1631-53 AD. the edifice was originally built as a temple in the 12^th century AD, and was subsequently used as a palace by the alien aggressors. The building again fell into the hands of the Rajput kings during the period of Humayun, and was put to use as a palace by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur. And that it was finally commandeered by Shah Jahan from Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur, and was converted into a mausoleum.

The controversy assumes importance as it questions some of the basic premises of mediaeval Indian archeology. This Article attempts to place in perspective some of the pertinent questions that arise on the subject.

Evidence

1.The term Tajmahal itself never occurs in any mogul court paper or chronicle even in Aurangzeb’s time. The attempt to explain it away as Taj-i-mahal is therefore, ridiculous.

2.The ending “Mahal”is never muslim because in none of the muslim countries around the world from Afghanistan to Algeria is there a building known as “Mahal”.

3.The unusual explanation of the term Tajmahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal, who is buried in it, is illogical in at least two respects viz., firstly her name was never Mumtaj Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani and secondly one cannot omit the first three letters “Mum” from a woman’s name to derive the remainder as the name of the building.

4.Since the lady’s name was Mumtaz (ending with ‘Z’) the name of the building derived from her should have been Taz Mahal, if at all, and not Taj (spelled with a ‘J’).

5.Several European visitors of Shahjahan’s time allude to the building as Taj-e-Mahal is almost the correct tradition, age old Sanskrit name Tej-o-Mahalaya, signifying a Shiva temple. Contrarily Shahjahan and Aurangzeb scrupulously avoid using the Sanskrit term and call it just a holy grave.

6.The tomb should be understood to signify NOT A BUILDING but only the grave or centotaph inside it. This would help people to realize that all dead muslim courtiers and royalty including Humayun, Akbar, Mumtaz, Etmad-ud-Daula and Safdarjang have been buried in capture Hindu mansions and temples.

7.Moreover, if the Taj is believed to be a burial place, how can the term Mahal, i.e., mansion apply to it?

8.Since the term Taj Mahal does not occur in mogul courts it is absurd to search for any mogul explanation for it. Both its components namely, ‘Taj’ and’ Mahal’ are of Sanskrit origin.

9.The term Taj Mahal is a corrupt form of the sanskrit term TejoMahalay signifying a Shiva Temple. Agreshwar Mahadev i.e., The Lord of Agra was consecrated in it.

10.The tradition of removing the shoes before climbing the marble platform originates from pre Shahjahan times when the Taj was a Shiva Temple. Had the Taj originated as a tomb, shoes need not have to be removed because shoes are a necessity in a cemetery.

11.Visitors may notice that the base slab of the centotaph is the marble basement in plain white while its superstructure and the other three centotaphs on the two floors are covered with inlaid creeper designs. This indicates that the marble pedestal of the Shiva idol is still in place and Mumtaz’s centotaphs are fake.

12.The pitchers carved inside the upper border of the marble lattice plus those mounted on it number 108-a number sacred in Hindu Temple tradition.

13.There are persons who are connected with the repair and the maintainance of the Taj who have seen the ancient sacred Shiva Linga and other idols sealed in the thick walls and in chambers in the secret, sealed red stone stories below the marble basement. The Archaeological Survey of India is keeping discretely, politely and diplomatically silent about it to the point of dereliction of its own duty to probe into hidden historical evidence.

14.In India there are 12 Jyotirlingas i.e., the outstanding Shiva Temples. The Tejomahalaya alias The Tajmahal appears to be one of them known as Nagnatheshwar since its parapet is girdled with Naga, i.e., Cobra figures. Ever since Shahjahan’s capture of it the sacred temple has lost its Hindudom.

15.The famous Hindu treatise on architecture titled Vishwakarma Vastushastra mentions the ‘Tej-Linga’ amongst the Shivalingas i.e., the stone emblems of Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity. Such a Tej Linga was consecrated in the Taj Mahal, hence the term Taj Mahal alias Tejo Mahalaya.

16.Agra city, in which the Taj Mahal is located, is an ancient centre of Shiva worship. Its orthodox residents have through ages continued the tradition of worshipping at five Shiva shrines before taking the last meal every night especially during the month of Shravan. During the last few centuries the residents of Agra had to be content with worshipping at only four prominent Shiva temples viz., Balkeshwar, Prithvinath, Manakameshwar and Rajarajeshwar. They had lost track of the fifth Shiva deity which their forefathers worshipped. Apparently the fifth was Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar i.e., The Lord Great God of Agra, The Deity of the King of Cobras, consecrated in the Tejomahalay alias Tajmahal.

17.The people who dominate the Agra region are Jats. Their name of Shiva is Tejaji. The Jat special issue of The Illustrated Weekly of India (June 28,1971) mentions that the Jats have the Teja Mandirs i.e., Teja Temples. This is because Teja-Linga is among the several names of the Shiva Lingas. From this it is apparent that the Taj-Mahal is Tejo-Mahalaya, The Great Abode of Tej.

18. Shahjahan’s own court chronicle, the Badshahnama, admits (page 403, vol 1) that a grand mansion of unique splendor, capped with a dome (Imaarat-a-Alishan wa Gumbaze) was taken from the Jaipur Maharaja Jaisigh for Mumtaz’s burial, and the building was known as Raja Mansingh’s palace.

19. The plaque put the archealogy department outside the Tajmahal describes the edifice as a mausoleum built by Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal , over 22 years from 1631 to 1653. That plaque is a specimen of historical bungling. Firstly, the plaque sites no authority for its claim. Secondly the lady’s name was Mumtaz-ulZamani and not Mumtazmahal. Thirdly, the period of 22 years is taken from some mumbo jumbo noting by an unreliable French visitor Tavernier, to the exclusion of all muslim versions, which is an absurdity.

20. Prince Aurangzeb’s letter to his father,emperor Shahjahan,is recorded in atleast three chronicles titled `Aadaab-e-Alamgiri’, `Yadgarnama’, and the `Muruqqa-i-Akbarabadi’ (edited by Said Ahmed, Agra, 1931, page 43, footnote 2). In that letter Aurangzeb records in 1652 A.D itself that the several buildings in the fancied burial place of Mumtaz were seven storeyed and were so old that they were all leaking, while the dome had developed a crack on the northern side.Aurangzeb, therefore, ordered immediate repairs to the buildings at his own expense while recommending to the emperor that more elaborate repairs be carried out later. This is the proof that during Shahjahan’s reign itself that the Taj complex was so old as to need immediate repairs.

21. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur retains in his secret personal `KapadDwara’ collection two orders from Shahjahan dated Dec 18, 1633 (bearing modern nos. R.176 and 177) requestioning the Taj building complex. That was so blatant a usurpation that the then ruler of Jaipur was ashamed to make the document public.

22. The Rajasthan State archives at Bikaner preserve three other firmans addressed by Shahjahan to the Jaipur’s ruler Jaising ordering the latter to supply marble (for Mumtaz’s grave and koranic grafts) from his Makranna quarris, and stone cutters. Jaisingh was apparently so enraged at the blatant seizure of the Tajmahal that he refused to oblige Shahjahan by providing marble for grafting koranic engravings and fake centotaphs for further desecration of the Tajmahal. Jaising looked at Shahjahan’s demand for marble and stone cutters, as an insult added to injury. Therefore, he refused to send any marble and instead detained the stone cutters in his protective custody.

23. The three firmans demanding marble were sent to Jaisingh within about two years of Mumtaz’s death. Had Shahjahan really built the Tajmahal over a period of 22 years, the marble would have needed only after 15 or 20 years not immediately after Mumtaz’s death.

24. Moreover, the three mention neither the Tajmahal, nor Mumtaz, nor the burial. The cost and the quantity of the stone also are not mentioned. This proves that an insignificant quantity of marble was needed just for some supercial tinkering and tampering with the Tajmahal. Even otherwise Shahjahan could never hope to build a fabulous Tajmahal by abject dependence for marble on a non cooperative Jaisingh.

A Sanskrit inscription too supports the conclusion that the Taj originated as a Shiva temple. Wrongly termed as the Bateshwar inscription (currently preserved on the top floor of the Lucknow museum), it refers to the raising of a “crystal white Shiva temple so alluring that Lord Shiva once enshrined in it decided never to return to Mount Kailash his usual abode”. That inscription dated 1155 A.D. was removed from the Tajmahal garden at Shahjahan’s orders. Historicians and Archeaologists have blundered in terming the insription the `Bateshwar inscription’ when the record doesn’t say that it was found by Bateshwar. It ought, in fact, to be called `The Tejomahalaya inscription’ because it was originally installed in the Taj garden before it was uprooted and cast away at Shahjahan’s command.

A clue to the tampering by Shahjahan is found on pages 216-217, vol. 4, of Archealogiical Survey of India Reports (published 1874) stating that a “great square black balistic pillar which, with the base and capital of another pillar….now in the grounds of Agra,…it is well known, once stood in the garden of Tajmahal”.A wooden piece from the riverside doorway of the Taj subjected to the carbon 14 test by an American Laboratory, has revealed that the door to be 300 years older than Shahjahan,since the doors of the Taj, broken open by Muslim invaders repeatedly from the 11th century onwards, had to b replaced from time to time. The Taj edifice is much more older. It belongs to 1155 A.D, i.e., almost 500 years anterior to Shahjahan.The two buildings which face the marble Taj from the east and west are identical in design, size and shape and yet the eastern building is explained away by Islamic tradition, as a community hall while the western building is claimed to be a mosque. How could buildings meant for radically different purposes be identical? This proves that the western building was put to use as a mosque after seizure of the Taj property by Shahjahan. Curiously enough the building being explained away as a mosque has no minaret. They form a pair af reception pavilions of the Tejomahalaya temple palace.A few yards away from the same flank is the Nakkar Khana alias DrumHouse which is a intolerable incongruity for Islam. The proximity of the Drum House indicates that the western annex was not originally a mosque. Contrarily a drum house is a neccesity in a Hindu temple or palace because Hindu chores,in the morning and evening, begin to the sweet strains of music.The embossed patterns on the marble exterior of the centotaph chamber wall are foilage of the conch shell design and the Hindu letter “OM”. The octagonally laid marble lattices inside the centotaph chamber depict pink lotuses on their top railing. The Lotus, the conch and the OM are the sacred motifs associated with the Hindu deities and temples.The spot occupied by Mumtaz’s centotaph was formerly occupied by the Hindu Teja Linga a lithic representation of Lord Shiva. Around it are five perambulatory passages. Perambulation could be done around the marble lattice or through the spacious marble chambers surrounding the centotaph chamber, and in the open over the marble platform. It is also customary for the Hindus to have apertures along the perambulatory passage, overlooking the deity. Such apertures exist in the perambulatories in the Tajmahal.Had Shahjahan really built the Taj Mahal as a wonder mausoleum, history would have recorded a specific date on which she was ceremoniously buried in the Taj Mahal. No such date is ever mentioned. This important missing detail decisively exposes the falsity of the Tajmahal legend.Even the year of Mumtaz’s death is unknown. It is variously speculated to be 1629, 1630, 1631 or 1632. Had she deserved a fabulous burial, as is claimed, the date of her death had not been a matter of much speculation. In an harem teeming with 5000 women it was difficult to keep track of dates of death. Apparently the date of Mumtaz’s death was so insignificant an event, as not to merit any special notice. Who would then build a Taj for her burial?Stories of Shahjahan’s exclusive infatuation for Mumtaz’s are concoctions. They have no basis in history nor has any book ever written on their fancied love affairs. Those stories have been invented as an afterthought to make Shahjahan’s authorship of the Taj look plausible.The cost of the Taj is nowhere recorded in Shahjahan’s court papers because Shahjahan never built the Tajmahal. That is why wild estimates of the cost by gullible writers have ranged from 4 million to 91.7 million rupees.Likewise the period of construction has been guessed to be anywhere between 10 years and 22 years. There would have not been any scope for guesswork had the building construction been on record in the court papers.The designer of the Tajmahal is also variously mentioned as Essa Effendy, a Persian or Turk, or Ahmed Mehendis or a Frenchman, Austin deBordeaux, or Geronimo Veroneo, an Italian, or Shahjahan himself.Twenty thousand labourers are supposed to have worked for 22 years during Shahjahan’s reign in building the Tajmahal. Had this been true, there should have been available in Shahjahan’s court papers design drawings, heaps of labour muster rolls, daily expenditure sheets, bills and receipts of material ordered, and commisioning orders. There is not even a scrap of paper of this kind.Description of the gardens around the Taj of Shahjahan’s time mention Ketaki, Jai, Jui, Champa, Maulashree, Harshringar and Bel. All these are plants whose flowers or leaves are used in the worship of Hindu deities. Bel leaves are exclusively used in Lord Shiva’s worship. A graveyard is planted only with shady trees because the idea of using fruit and flower from plants in a cemetary is abhorrent to human conscience. The presence of Bel and other flower plants in the Taj garden is proof of its having been a Shiva temple before seizure by Shahjahan. Hindu temples are often built on river banks and sea beaches. The Taj is one such built on the bank of the Yamuna river an ideal location for a Shiva temple.Prophet Mohammad has ordained that the burial spot of a muslim should be inconspicous and must not be marked by even a single tombstone. In flagrant violation of this, the Tajamhal has one grave in the basement and another in the first floor chamber both ascribed to Mumtaz. Those two centotaphs were infact erected by Shahjahan to bury the two tier Shivalingas that were consecrated in the Taj. It is customary for Hindus to install two Shivalingas one over the other in two stories as may be seen in the Mahankaleshwar temple in Ujjain and the Somnath temple raised by Ahilyabai in Somnath Pattan.The Tajmahal has identical entrance arches on all four sides. This is a typical Hindu building style known as Chaturmukhi, i.e.,four faced.The Tajmahal has a reverberating dome. Such a dome is an absurdity for a tomb which must ensure peace and silence. Contrarily reverberating domes are a neccesity in Hindu temples because they create an ecstatic dinmultiplying and magnifying the sound of bells, drums and pipes accompanying the worship of Hindu deities.The Tajmahal entrance faces south. Had the Taj been an Islamic building it should have faced the west.Mumtaz died in Burhanpur which is about 600 miles from Agra. Her grave there is intact. Therefore ,the centotaphs raised in stories of the Taj in her name seem to be fakes hiding in Hindu Shiva emblems.A pertinent consideration is that a Shahjahan who did not build any palaces for Mumtaz while she was alive, would not build a fabulous mausoleum for a corpse which was no longer kicking or clicking.Another factor is that Mumtaz died within two or three years of Shahjahan becoming an emperor. Could he amass so much superflous wealth in that short span as to squander it on a wonder mausoleum?While Shahjahan’s special attachment to Mumtaz is nowhere recorded in history his amorous affairs with many other ladies from maids to mannequins including his own daughter Jahanara, find special attention in accounts of Shahjahan’s reign. Would Shahjahan shower his hard earned wealth on Mumtaz’s corpse?Early in the year 1973, chance digging in the garden in front of the Taj revealed another set of fountains about six feet below the present fountains. This proved two things. Firstly, the subterranean fountains were there before Shahjahan laid the surface fountains. And secondly that those fountains are aligned to the Taj that edifice too is of pre Shahjahan origin. Apparently the garden and its fountains had sunk from annual monsoon flooding and lack of maintenance for centuries during the Islamic rule.The marble that Shahjahan used for grafting Koranic lettering in the Taj is of a pale white shade while the rest of the Taj is built of a marble with rich yellow tint. This disparity is proof of the Koranic extracts being a superimposition.A tiny mirror glass in a gallery of the Red Fort in Agra reflects the Taj mahal. Shahjahan is said to have spent his last eight years of life as a prisoner in that gallery peering at the reflected Tajmahal and sighing in the name of Mumtaz. This myth is a blend of many falsehoods. Firstly,old Shajahan was held prisoner by his son Aurangzeb in the basement storey in the Fort and not in an open,fashionable upper storey. Secondly, the glass piece was fixed in the 1930’s by Insha Allah Khan, a peon of the archaelogy dept.just to illustrate to the visitors how in ancient times the entire apartment used to scintillate with tiny mirror pieces reflecting the Tejomahalay temple a thousand fold. Thirdly, a old decrepit Shahjahan with pain in his joints and cataract in his eyes, would not spend his day craning his neck at an awkward angle to peer into a tiny glass piece with bedimmed eyesight when he could as well his face around and have full,direct view of the Tjamahal itself. But the general public is so gullible as to gulp all such prattle of wily, unscrupulous guides.That the Tajmahal dome has hundreds of iron rings sticking out of its exterior is a feature rarely noticed. These are made to hold Hindu earthen oil lamps for temple illumination.School and College history carry the myth that Shahjahan reign was a golden period in which there was peace and plenty and that Shahjahan commisioned many buildings and patronized literature. This is pure fabrication. Shahjahan did not commision even a single building as we have illustrated by a detailed analysis of the Tajmahal legend. Shahjahn had to enrage in 48 military campaigns during a reign of nearly 30 years which proves that his was not a era of peace and plenty.The interior of the dome rising over Mumtaz’s centotaph has a representation of Sun and cobras drawn in gold. Hindu warriors trace their origin to the Sun. For an Islamic mausoleum the Sun is redundant. Cobras are always associated with Lord Shiva.

HISTORY of Taj Mahal .

The legend of the Taj Mahal tells us that it was built by Shah Jahan (1628-1658 AD), the fifth generation Mogul Emperor, as a mausoleum to his wife Mumtaz Mahal. And that 20,000 men worked incessantly for 22 years to complete the magnificent marble edifice.

Mumtaz died in 1631 AD, at Barhanpur where she was buried and a mausoleum was erected. Six months later her body was shifted to Agra to be buried in what is known as the Temporary Grave–which is demarcated and can be seen even today–a few meters to the southwest of the Taj Mahal. And subsequently her body was laid to rest inside the Taj Mahal.

The main supporting pieces of the above article are cited from the following Research documents, which will be discussed in detail in the course of this Article.

i) The Badshahnama, an important court journal of Shah Jahan, written by Mulla Abdul Hamid Lahori.

ii) The firmans (court orders) of Shah Jahan to Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur, pertaining to the acquisition of marble from the Makrana quarries in Rajasthan.

iii) Travelogue of Peter Mundy, an employee of the East India Company, who visited Agra between 1631-1633 AD.

iiii) Travelogue of J. B. Tavernier, a French merchant who visited India five times between 1638-1668 AD.

The Taj Mahal is a seven storeyed edifice with its plinth at the level of the riverbed. The courtyard in front of the building corresponds to the third storey of the edifice. The entire skeleton of the edifice is made of red stone, the top four floors being plastered with marble. It measures a height of 243 ½ ft (whereas the Qutb Minar of Delhi is only 238 ft). The marble platform (4^th storey) on which the central edifice is standing has a floor area of 328 ft x 328 ft, and has four marble minarets at its corners. The marble superstructure covers an area of 187 ft x 187 ft with 33 ft chambers cut off at each corner. It has a huge central dome with an inner diameter of 58 ft and a wall thickness of 14 ft — surrounded by four smaller copulas with a diameter of 26′8″. The central edifice is flanked with two identical red-stone buildings–the one on the western side is a mosque and the other a community hall–each having three domes. Facing the main building at the other end of the courtyard is the Main Gateway, which is a four-storeyed edifice covering a floor area of 140 ft x 110 ft. Midway between the Gateway and the marble edifice, there are two identical double-storeyed buildings, placed on either side of the courtyard known as the “Nagar Khanas” (Drum Houses). The courtyard covers a net area of 1460 ft x 100 ft.

Outside the Main Gateway is the Great courtyard, which covers an additional area of 430 ft x 1000 ft, having rows of redstone constructions, at present used as shops. Thus, the Taj Complex covers a net area of 1890 ft x 1000 ft, which is roughly equal to half the area of the Red Fort of Agra. The whole complex is perfectly symmetrical about the North-South axis, the two halves forming mirror images of each other to minutest details.

It must have been a challenging project both architecturally and financially, so much so that it made both Shah Jahan and his wife immortal. But it is surprising that in none of the hitherto known court papers of Shah Jahan–there are several of them–there is any record of the date of its commencement or of its completion, or the total period of its construction or the details of expenditure. (There is a brief remark in the Badshahnama that the expenditure incurred upon the building was Rs. 40 lakhs. And the present estimate of 20,000 workers and 22 years are based upon the writings of Tavernier, which shall be examined later.) Besides, several details of traditional Hindu symbolism can be located at various places in the Taj Complex. Therefore, it is a pertinent question whether Shah Jahan himself built the edifice, or he converted an existing building into a mausoleum. Badshahnama, one of the most important court journals of Shah Jahan, deals with the burial of Mumtaz in two pages of its first volume (pp.403-404).

(On) “Friday–15th Jamadi-ul Awwal, the sacred dead body of the traveller to the kingdom of Holiness, hazrat Mumtaz-ul Zamani–who was buried temporarily…. was brought to the capital Akbarabad (Agra)…

The site covered with magnificent lush garden, to the south of that great city and amidst which (garden) the building known as the palace of Raja Mansingh, at present owned by Raja Jaisingh (Pesh az ein Manzil-e Rajan Mansingh bood Wadaree Waqt ba Raja Jaisingh), grandson (of Mansingh) was selected for the burial of the queen whose abode is in heaven.

“Although Raja Jaisingh valued it greatly as his ancestral heritage and property, yet would have been agreeable to part with it gratis for the Emperor Shahjahan. (Still) out of sheer scrupulousness so essential in the matters of bereavement and religious sanctity, in exchange of that grand place, he was granted a piece of government land (Dar’ awaz aan aali Manzil-e az khalisa-e sharifah badoo marahmat farmoodand) after the arrival of the dead body in that great city on 15^th Jamadul Soniya.

“Next year that illustrious body of the heavenly queen was laid to rest. The officials of the capital, according to the royal orders of the day, under the sky-high lofty mausoleum hid the pious lady from the eyes of the world, and the edifice so majestic and with a dome, and so lofty in its stature, is a memorial to the courage of sky-dimensions of the king–and a strength so mighty in resolution so firm–the foundation was laid and geomatricians of farsight and architects of talent incurred an expenditure of Rs. 40 lakhs (chihal lakh roopiah) on this building.”

Normally, the above quoted passages would need no further commentary. It is explicitly stated that the “palace of Raja Mansingh was selected for the burial of the queen”. That it is no ordinary building is obvious as Raja Jaisingh “valued it greatly as his ancestral heritage and property”. And piece of government land was given in exchange of that great palace (aali manzil). The transaction was clinched only after the arrival of the dead body in Agra (which explains the presence of the Temporary Grave). The body was finally buried in the “sky-high lofty mausoleum” the following year (probably soon after the palace was suitably modified). And the subsequent decorations and calligraphical work upon the building cost Rs. 40 lakhs.

What then is the basis of the claim that Shah Jahan built the edifice? In the last paragraph quoted above, there occurs a phrase, “…foundation was laid…” Some historians interpret it to mean that Shah Jahan laid the foundation of a new edifice–the Taj Mahal, and the support to this view is drawn from the Persian line quoted in the third paragraph dealing with the transaction. It is interpreted as a grand palace being granted to Raja Jai Singh in exchange of the land for building the mausoleum.

From the clear and explicit reference to Raja Man Singh’s palace, and the absence of any details about the duration and efforts involved in building the gigantic edifice, the operative phrase, “foundation was laid” can also be viewed as a figurative reference to the initiation of alterations in the edifice. However, the controversy makes it necessary to examine the issue more carefully.

The confusion can be resolved only by examining all other evidences including the architecture of the edifice. The details of architecture–the bulbous dome and the minarets being Mogul characteristics, etc.–are examined in the second part of this paper; but it is relevant to examine one particular aspect of the architecture at this stage.

As mentioned earlier, the Taj Mahal is a multi-storeyed edifice with its plinth at the level of the riverbed. The entire skeleton of the edifice is of brick and red-stone, with the superstructure standing upon the red-stone terrace being plastered with marble. In Mogul tombs it is customary to have two graves: the real grave containing the dead body in the basement of the building, and a well decorated cenotaph meant for the public eye on the upper floor. In the Taj Mahal the real grave is on the third storey of the edifice and the decorated cenotaph is on the fourth.

The basement floor is now completely sealed; but the floor immediately below the real grave has long corridor running East-West on the northern part of the edifice, which can be entered at either end by means of staircases from the red-stone terrace. The corridor is 5′8″ wide and about 322 ft long and opens into 22 rooms (between the corridor and the river side wall) of sizes ranging from 11 ft x 20 ft, to 22 ft x 20 ft. These rooms had windows opening to the riverside, but all of them are permanently sealed with brick and mortar from inside and with red-stone slabs having floral decorations from outside. On the other side of the corridor there are at least three entrances opening to the South, which are crudely sealed with brick and mortar. The staircases to the corridor from the floor above were detected in 1900 AD.

Point of Discussion 1.

If the edifice was originally constructed for the purpose of a tomb, of what utility were these underground chambers conceived? And then why were they sealed subsequently? Or, was it that the edifice was originally constructed for an altogether different purpose?

Badshahnama (vol I, p. 384) records the date of Mumtaz’s death at Barhanpur as the 17^th Zi-it Quada 1040 AH (20^th June, 1631). The passages quoted above mentions the date of arrival of the dead body at Agra as the 15^th Jamad-ul Sanya 1041 AH (8^th Jan., 1632). But the date of final burial of Mumtaz inside the Taj Mahal is not precisely recorded, except that it was done the following year.

That it was done certainly before the 25^th February, 1633 becomes obvious from the writings of Peter Mundy, who finally left Agra on the date but has recorded that he had seen a rail of gold around the tomb of Mumtaz.

A completed mausoleum at Barhanpur indicates that the idea of a sepulcher in Agra must have occurred to Shah Jahan at least a few months after the death of Mumtaz. And the burial inside the Taj was complete with costly decorations and the tourists were allowed to visit by February, 1633. Even if one were to accept that the burial was done when the building was still under construction, it is unlikely that the cenotaph on the 4^th storey would be decorated with gold, etc., unless the three lower floors of the edifice were complete.

How does it compare with the supposed period of construction of the Taj Mahal, 1631-53 AD? Is it plausible that beginning with the selection of the architects and building plan, the lower three floors of the edifice would be raised upon the riverbed within the span of a year?

Therefore, the translations quoted above regarding the acquisition of Raja Man Singh’s palace seem to be the correct interpretation of the Badshahnama. However, there is another aspect of the question which needs to be examined. Could it be that the marble superstructure upon the red-stone terrace was erected by Shah Jahan himself?

Age of the Taj Mahal

Modern techniques of archaeometry are used to determine the approximate age of historical buildings with reasonable accuracy. Marvin Mills¹¹ of New York reports about the Carbon-14 dating of the Taj Mahal: “Another item of evidence concerning the alleged date of the Taj is adduced from a radiocarbon date from a piece of wood from a door on the north facade of the Jumuna River’s bank. The sample was tested by Dr. Even Williams, director of the Brooklyn College Radiocarbon Laboratory. The date came to 1359 AD with a spread of 89 years on either side and 67% probability, Masca corrected.”

That is, it can be said with 67% certainty that the particular door was made during the period 1270-1448 AD. However, the radio-carbon dating of a single door is not a conclusive evidence about the age of the building for two reasons; the sample itself might be contaminated. And that there is a possibility of the door being a subsequent replacement of the original one in the ancient edifice. Therefore, to arrive at a conclusion, more such samples need to be examined.

The discussion upon the historical evidences raises many pertinent questions regarding the architecture of the building. Does the edifice look like a palace or like a Mogul tomb? Is not the dome–the bulbous dome–a characteristic of Mogul architecture? Do the minarets and the single pointed arch not have religious significance in Islamic architecture? The discussion upon the Taj Mahal cannot be complete unless one finds satisfactory answers to the above questions.

Many historians (Havell, Batley, Kenoyer, Hunter, etc.), from time to time, have pointed out that the architecture of the Taj Mahal is not in the traditions of Saracenic style but resembles that of a Hindu temple. But this view has largely gone unnoticed primarily because it runs against the grain of some of the accepted premises of Indo-Saracenic architecture.

The single pointed door arch had great religious significance in Saracenic architecture as it represents the one and the only God of Islam. Such arches are commonly seen in the Islamic architecture of Bagdad and surrounding places, and hence it is generally believed that the single pointed arch and the arcuate style (as against the trabeate style) of constructing it are exclusive innovations or Saracenic architecture. And that it arrived at India as a resultant contribution of Afghan invasion at the close of the 12^th century.

It is also generally believed that the bulbous dome seen in the Taj Mahal, migrated to India from Samarkhand, subsequent to the establishment of Mogul dynasty by Babur in the 16^th century. There are significant differences between the Arab domes seen in Bagdad and Egypt and the dome of Taj Mahal, the bulbous dome of Samarkhand forming the link between the two. Since the arcuate style of constructing the arches and domes is believed to be exclusively of Saracenic origin, it is also believed that the bulbous dome originated outside India.

These premises were originally propounded by the well-known British historian James Fergusson¹² who conducted the pioneer work in the field of Indian archaeology for nearly five decades from around 1835 AD. His assumptions–widely accepted today–preclude the question of the Taj Mahal being a Hindu construction. However, the historical evidences discussed so far, call for a thorough examination of the architecture of the edifice, notwithstanding the assumptions.

The Arch And The Dome It is not necessary here to go into the debate whether the single pointed arch (and the arcuate style of constructing it) was exclusively of Saracenic origin. Even if it were so, it was well assimilated into the Hindu architecture by the middle of the 14^th century. In the latter half of the 14^th century the rulers of Vijayanagara (1346-1563 AD) in South India employed the single pointed arch in their construction. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that it was used in the Hindu architecture of North India several decades earlier. This tallies well with the approximate period of construction of the Taj Mahal, as suggested by the radio-carbon dating (i.e. 1359 AD).

However, the assumption that the bulbous dome originated in Samarkhand requires a closer examination. The initiation and development of medieval architecture of Samarkhand is attributed to Timurlung (1394-1404 AD), the 6^th generation predecessor of Emperor Babur. He invaded India in 1398 AD and after sacking Delhi and surrounding cities, carried off a large number of architects and other craftsman as captive labour to build his capital Samarkhand. A passage from his autobiography (Malfuzat-i-Timuri) would be illustrative:

“I ordered that all the artisans and clever mechanics who were masters of their respective crafts should be picked out from among the prisoners and set aside, and accordingly some thousands of craftsmen were selected to await my command. All these I distributed among the princes and amirs who were present, or who were engaged officially in other parts of my dominions. I had determined to build a Masjid-i-Jami in Samarkhand, the seat of my empire, which should be without a rival in my country; so I ordered that all builders and stone masons should be set apart for my own especial service.”¹³

It is important to note that the approximate period of construction of the Taj Mahal is around 1359 AD, whereas Timurlung invaded India in 1398 AD. Could it be that the bulbous dome was prevalent in India during that period and migrated to Samarkhand through the captive architects?

There are several important points which need to be considered in favour of the above conjecture:

(i) Similar buildings of the same period: There are several (more than a hundred) Jaina temples in the sacred mounts of Sonagarh (Bundelkhand) and Muktagiri (Berar) which contain the bulbous domes as well as the single pointed arches. Fergusson (p.62) attributes these temples to the 16^th and 17^th centuries, but it is important to note his uncertainty about their true antiquity: “So far as can be made out most of these temples date from 16^th and 17^th centuries, though a few of them may be older. Their original foundation may be earlier, but of that we know nothing, no one having yet enlightened us on the subject, nor explained how and when this hill became a sacred mount
(ii) The Lotus Canopy: various kinds of domes were used in the ancient temples of Mount Abu, Girnar, Udayapur, Mylass, Carla, etc., some of them as old as the 4^th century AD. All types of domes in these temples are topped with an inverted lotus flower, its stem forming the pinnacle of the building. The bulbous domes of Sonagarh and Muktagiri also contain the lotus canopy. And every single dome in the Taj Campus contains a similar lotus canopy. Havell (pp.23-26) traces the constituent elements of the Taj dome to the Hindu Shilpa Shastra, and the lotus canopy to the ‘Mahapadma‘ in the ‘stupi’ (pinnacle) of the ‘vimana‘ type of temple dome.It is noteworthy that the lotus is a sacred flower of the Hindus associated with their gods and goddesses, whereas it does not seem to have any special significance in Islamic culture, and the Saracenic architecture of Samarkhan, Persia, Bagdad and Egypt do not contain the lotus canopy over the dome. Even the Humayun’s tomb, widely believed to be the prototype of the Taj, does not contain the lotus canopy.

In addition to the lotus canopy over the dome, there are many other symbolic and sculptural details in the Taj Mahal which are quite appropriate in a Siva temple.¹⁴ Some of them are quoted below:

(i) Recess above the entrance: In the southern entrance to the outer precincts of the Taj Complex (i.e., the Taj Gunj gate facing the main gateway), above the door arch, there is a small arched recess. It is customary in Hindu Forts (for example, the Nagardhan Fort, Nagpur) to place an idol of Lord Ganesa in a similar recess above the main entrance. Could it be that the recess above the Taj entrance also contained a similar idol, which was subsequently removed by the iconoclastic invaders?

(ii) The Rajput Welcome Signs: The walls of the main gateway and the “kitchen” in the great courtyard are marked with typical Rajput welcome signs, such as the “gulab-dani” (rose-water cans) and “ilaichi-dani” (cardamon pots). The Rajput palaces at Deeg (Bharatpur) and Jaipur also contain similar welcome signs.

(iii) Ganesa Torana: On the main gateway, the entire border at waist-height is decorated with what is called the “Ganesa Torana” (the elephant trunk and the crown can be clearly identified). It is noteworthy that animate decorations are taboo in Islam.

(iv) Other sculptural details: Upon the marble walls of the central edifice, there are sculptural details of flowers in the shape of OM and bell flowers which is of great significance in the worship of Lord Shiva.

(v) The pinnacle: On top of the central dome of the Taj Mahal, there is a copper pinnacle which measures a height of 32′ 5 ½”. On the eastern red-stone courtyard, in front of the community hall, there is a figure of the pinnacle inlaid in black marble which measures a length of only 30′ 6″.

In this regard, it is necessary to clarify another point. There are many Hindu religious symbols seen in the Taj Mahal, which are often attributed to the religious tolerance of Shah Jahan, under whom the Hindu craftsmen enjoyed considerable freedom. But the Persian manuscript (Section 7) lists the names of Ustad Isa and Ismail Khan Rumi as the chief architect and the dome expert respectively. There is some ambiguity about the nativity of Ustad Isa (as to whether he was a citizen of Agra or of Shiraz), but the dome expert, as the name suggests, was from Rum which means the area around Bagdad and Mesopotamia. Is it plausible that the dome expert from the heartland of Islam, built the dome according to the Shilpa Shastra with a lotus canopy?

(Incidently, what was this dome expert doing in the Taj Mahal? He was drawing a stately salary of Rs. 500/- per month, and if Aurangzeb’s letter is to be believed, he did not even carry out the badly needed repairs to any of the five domes of the marble edifice!)

(iii) Arrangement of Domes: In architecture, even minor details normally embody certain meaning, and it would be more so in the case of gigantic domes which form the most important aspect of such buildings. Do the arrangements of numerous domes in the Taj Complex have any special significance? A well-known authority on Indian architecture E. B. Havell (pp.22-23) points out: “… the arrangement of the roofing of the mausoleum itself consists of five domes… this structural arrangement is not Saracenic, but essentially Hindu. It is known in Hindu architecture as the pancharatna, the shrine of the five jewels, or the five-headed lingam of Shiva… A typical example of it is found in one of the small shrines of Chandi Sewa at Prambanam in Java, which has an arrangement of domes strikingly similar to that of the Taj.

In front of the marble edifice, at the other end of the courtyard is the main Gateway which contains 22 mini-domes arranged on top of two parallel walls–one facing the Taj Mahal and the other facing the outer southern gate. (According to the legend, it represents the 22 years it took to build the Taj Mahal. The legend has its origin in the records of Tavernier, which is already examined in an earlier section, and is found baseless.)

The central edifice is flanked with two identical buildings, each having three huge domes. Could it be that they derive their significance from the Trinity of the Hindus? There seems to be no special significance attached to the number of domes in Saracenic architecture. In India there are mediaeval mosques which can be classified as having one, three, five, ten, eleven or even fifteen domes. However, the triple domed version seems to be a distinct Indian contribution to Saracenic architecture as such buildings are scarcely seen outside India.

(iv) The Direction of the Mosque: Normally mosques are built facing the Holy Mecca, the direction in which the faithful is commanded to turn while he prays. But the mosque inside the Taj Complex is facing the cardinal West instead of the Holy City. Marvin Mills¹⁰ of New York states: “… by the ninth century, they (Muslims) were able to calculate the direction of Mecca within two degrees from any city… the mosque that is part of the Taj complex faces due West whereas Mecca from Agra is 14 degrees 55 minutes south of West.”

It is noteworthy that the two rows of mini-domes are separated by more than 100 ft. (The floor area of the main Gateway is 140 ft x 110 ft.) And that the number derives its significance from the Ekadasa Rudra (Eleven forms of Siva?). Therefore, the fact that the Taj Mahal contains the bulbous dome, in itself is not sufficient to attribute its authorship to Shah Jahan. On the other hand, the fact that the domes having lotus canopy needed repairs in 1662 AD, the arrangement of the dome in the marble edifice, the main gateway and the adjacent buildings and also the direction of the mosque give rise to speculation that the bulbous dome was part of temple architecture. The temples of Muktagiri and Sonagarh further substantiates this conjecture, indicating the possibility of the bulbous dome existing in India before the Mogul invasion in the 16^th century.

The Minarets
In the mediaeval architecture of Persia and Bagdad, the minaret had a functional utility–to give call for the prayer to the faithful–in a mosque. Several of the mediaeval mosques in Gujarat do contain such minarets. But in the northern Gangetic plain, during the first four centuries of Pathan architecture, the minaret was not part of the building, with the sole exception of the mosque of Ajmer. (The mosque of Ajmer was one of the two earliest buildings built by the invading Afghans, and subsequently its minarets fell off due to the faulty construction.) Says Fergusson (pp.219-20): “…minarets…so far as I know, were not attached to mosques during the so-called Pathan period. The call to prayer was made from the roof; and except the first rude attempt at Ajmer, I do not know an instance of a minaret built solely for such a purpose, though they were, as we know, universal in Egypt and elsewhere long before this time, and were considered nearly indispensable in the buildings of the Mughals very shortly afterwards.”

However, the style and the purpose of the minarets of the Taj Mahal appear to be quite different from those of the Saracenic architecture of Persia or Bagdad for two reasons:

(i) The marble edifice, which is a mausoleum, has four minarets at its corners, whereas the adjacent mosque for which a minaret would have been of functional utility does not have any.

(ii) In pure Saracenic architecture, the minaret normally rises from the shoulder of the edifice to well-above the dome. In the case of the Taj Mahal, they stand separated from the edifice and are shorter than the domes.

Therefore, the purpose of the minarets is not functional but decorative, and the inspiration behind them is not Saracenic.

In fact, the “era of minarets” seems to have begun with Shah Jahan himself. Among the buildings of his predecessors, only one–the southern gateway to Sikandara (Akbar’s tomb) in Agra–contains four marble minarets. But there is good reason to believe that those are subsequent additions (probably by Shah Jahan himself) and not part of original design. Apart from the contrast of the marble minarets standing on top of red-stone gateway, to quote Satish Grover¹ “the location of the minarets over the parapets flanking the main entrance, is to say the least unusual and a clear case of fortuitous addition rather than comprehensive design. These minarets were certainly built either as experiments before erecting those at the Taj or immediately thereafter–more probably the latter.”

Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that the minarets of the Taj Mahal were not inspired by the Saracenic architecture; but on the other hand, it is from the Taj Mahal that the subsequent Mogul architecture adopted the concept of decorative minarets.

There is reason to believe that the copper pinnacle is not the original one. The Shahjahannama of Muhammad Salah Kumbo mentions that the pinnacle was pure gold. But by 1873-74 it was already of copper and when it was taken down for regilding, the words “Joseph Taylor” were found engraved on the copper. Captain Taylor was the British official who carried out the repairs to the Taj Mahal in 1810 AD. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the original gold pinnacle was removed by either Joseph Taylor or his predecessors. The discrepancy between the lengths of the pinnacle and its figure in the courtyard supports this conclusion. However, because of the similarity between the copper pinnacle and its figure in the courtyard, it can be assumed that the original shape remains unaltered.

The end of the pinnacle branches into a trident, its central tongue extending farther than that of the other two. On closer observation, the central tongue appears to be in the shape of a “Kalasha” (water pot) topped with two bent mango leaves and a coconut. This is a sacred Hindu motif. Could it be that the trident pinnacle was symbolic of the deity Lord Shiva worshipped inside?

The symbols listed above are directly Hindu and some of them–the animate decorations such as the cobra twins and Ganesha–”torana” are toboo in Islam. It is likely that these details, not being very obvious, are only those that have survived the alterations in the building.

An alternate explanation attributes the Hindu symbolism to the benevolent religious tolerance of Shah Jahan, under whom the Hindu craftsmen enjoyed complete freedom to express their talent in their own traditional style. However, regarding his religious tolerance, his own court journal Badshahnama has an altogether different commentary to make: “It has been brought to the notice of His Majesty that during the late region many idol temples had begun, but remained unfinished at Benaras, the great stronghold of infidelity. The infidels were now desirous of completing them. His Majesty, the defender of the faith, gave orders that at Benaras and throughout all his dominions at every place, all temples should be cast down. It was now reported from the province of Allahabad that 76 temples had been destroyed in the district of Benaras.”

The discussion on the historical evidence indicates that the Taj Mahal was already ancient at the time of Shah Jahan. And the discussion upon the architecture leads to the conclusion that the general layout of the Taj Complex resembles a Shiva temple. The whole thesis of Shah Jahan himself building the edifice rests upon the premise that the bulbous dome originated in Samarkhand and migrated to India after the advent of Babur.

The discussion cannot be complete unless we examine two other questions: What is the plausibility of Shah Jahan constructing the edifice, and how did the legend come to be?

There is universal agreement about the architectural splendour and grandeur of the Taj Mahal. It was conceived by an inspired mind which knew the meaning of beauty, and it signifies the culmination of a mature style in architecture. It is a testimony to the peace and prosperity of its period.

The Moguls were rich in wealth and taste and seem to have had the leisure to undertake a project of this kind. But what about its style? Does it appear to be in the tradition of the style developed and perfected by the successive rulers of Mogul dynasty? Listen to James Fergusson (pp. 307-308): “It would be difficult to point out in the whole history of architecture any change so sudden as that which took place between the style of Akbar and that of his grandson Shah Jahan–nor any contrast so great as that between the manly vigour and exuberant originality of the first, as compared with the extreme but almost effeminate elegance of the second. Certainly when the same people, following the same religion, built temples and palaces in the same locality, nothing of the sort ever occurred in any country whose history is known to us.”

What then is the true age of the Taj Mahal?

Though it was put to use as a palace, its architecture is not that of a residential mansion, but of a temple. Obviously, it was converted into a palace, and Raja Man Singh was not the one to effect the conversion. It is not unreasonable to speculate that the edifice acquired his name due to his pre-eminent position in the Mogul Court and his fairly long occupation of the building. The fact that the edifice required elaborate repairs in 1652 AD, also indicates that it belonged to a period earlier to Raja Man Singh. The radio-carbon dating–though not conclusive about the date–further reinforces the possibility of the Taj Mahal being a couple of centuries older than Shah Jahan. However, a conclusive dating can be done only by several radio-carbon tests of different samples from the edifice. And it is almost certain that the sealed underground chambers would reveal enough evidence about the original purpose and the true age of the edifice. The historical antecedents of the building can be traced only by considerable diligent study of the documents pertaining to several centuries prior to Shah Jahan.

However, if radio-carbon test result quoted above can be treated as a pointer, it raises certain important questions regarding Indian archaeology.

i) Was the bulbous dome an exclusive innovation of Indian architecture, and migrated to Samakhand through the architects taken captive by Timurlung?

ii) If the architecture style could produce so fine a piece as the Taj Mahal in the 14^th century, how long ago did the style originate? Is it true, as Havell has asserted, that the bulbous dome had its origin in the Buddhist stupas and the carvings of Ajanta (which was at least a thousand years before the initial Afgan invasion)? If so, it brings us face to face with the other assumptions of Fergusson that the single pointed arch and the arcuate style of constructing the arches and domes–the Taj Mahal answer to both these characteristics–have arrived at India only during the 13^th century AD after the initial Afgan invasion.
Thus, the question of antiquity of the Taj Mahal has powerful bearing upon the study of Indian archaeology. It raises certain pertinent questions about the origin, development, influence and classification of one of the important streams of mediaeval architecture. And since an architectural style carries with it the stamp of the contemporary epoch, the above questions have bearing upon the study of Indian history as well.

some facts and Pictures

This is the massive octagonal well with palatial apartments along its seven stories. A royal staircase descends right down to the water level indicated by the tiny white patch showing the sun’s reflection.

This was the traditional treasury well of the Hindu temple palace. Treasure chests used to be stacked in the lower stories. Accountants, cashiers and treasurers sat in the upper stories. Cheques called handies used to be issued from here. On being besieged, if the building had to be surrendered to the enemy, the treasure used to be pushed into the water for salvage later after recapture. For real research, water should be pumped out of this well to reveal the evidence that lies at the bottom. This well is inside a tower near the so-called mosque to the west of the marble Taj. Had the Taj been a mausoleum this octagonal multistoried well would have been superfluous

A frontal view of the Taj Mahal alias Tejo Mahalaya in Agra. It is octagonal because the Hindus believe in 10 directions. The pinnacle pointing to the heaven and the foundation to the nether world, plus the eight surface directions make the 10 directions. Divinity and royalty are believed to hold sway in all those 10 directions. Hence in Hindu tradition, buildings connected with royalty and divinity must have some octagonal features or the buildings themselves should be octagonal. The two flanking cupolas (two others to the rear are not seen in this photo) are also identical.

The towers at the four plinth corners served as watch towers during the day, and to hold lights at night. Hindu wedding altars and Satyanarayan worship altars invariably have such towers at corners. [Many other Hindu temples, such as those at Khajurao, also can be found to have four towers or temples, one at each corner of the temple foundation.]

The lotus flower cap on the head of the dome is a Hindu feature. Muslim domes are bald. This marble edifice has four stories. Inside the dome is an 83 ft. high hall. The Taj has a double dome. The dome one sees from inside ends like an inverted pan on the terrace. The dome seen from outside is a cover on the inner dome. Therefore, in between them is an 83 ft. hall. This may be considered as one storey. Underneath may be seen the first storey arches and the ground floor rooms. In the basement, visitors are shown one room. All these constitute the four storeys in the marble edifice. Below the marble structure are two stories in red stone reaching down to the river level. The 7^th storey must be below the river level because every ancient Hindu historic building did have a basement. Thus, the Taj is a seven-storied structure.

The dome of the Taj Mahal bearing a trident pinnacle made of a non-rusting eight-metal Hindu alloy. The pinnacle served as a lightning deflector too. This pinnacle has been blindly assumed by many to be an Islamic crescent and star, or a lightning conductor installed by the British. This is a measure of the careless manner in which Indian history has been studied till now. Visually identifiable things like this pinnacle too have been misinterpreted with impunity. The flower top of the dome, below the pinnacle, is an unmistakable Hindu sign. A full scale figure of this pinnacle is inlaid in the eastern courtyard.

A close up of the upper portion of the pinnacle of the Taj Mahal, photographed from the parapet beneath the dome. The Hindu horizontal crescent and the coconut top together look like a trident from the garden level. Islamic crescents are always oblique. Moreover they are almost always complete circles leaving a little opening for a star. This Hindu pinnacle had all these centuries been misinterpreted as an Islamic crescent and star or a lightning conductor installed by the British. The word “Allah” etched here by Shahjahan is absent in the courtyard replica. The coconut, the bent mango leaves under it and the supporting Kalash (water pot) are exclusive Hindu motifs.

The apex of the lofty entrance arch on all four sides of the Taj Mahal bears this red lotus and white trident–indicating that the building originated as a Hindu temple. The Koranic lettering forming the middle strip was grafted after Shahjahan seized the building from Jaipur state’s Hindu ruler.

These corridors at the approach of the Taj Mahal are typically Hindu. They may be seen in any ancient Hindu capital. Note the two octagonal tower cupolas at the right and left top. Only Hindus have special names for the eight directions and celestial guards assigned to each. Any octagonal feature in historic buildings should convince the visitor of their Hindu origin. Guards, palanquin bearers and other attendants resided in hundreds of rooms along numerous such corridors when the Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple palace. Thus the Taj was more magnificent and majestic before it was reduced to a sombre Islamic cemetery.

This is the Dhatura flower essential for Hindu Shiva worship. The flower is depicted in the shape of the sacred, esoteric Hindu incantation ‘OM.’ Embossed designs of this blooming ‘OM’ are drawn over the exterior of the octagonal central sanctorum of Shiva where now a fake grave in Mumtaz’s has been planted. While perambulating around the central chamber one may see such ‘OM’ designs.

One of the 22 rooms in the secret storey underneath the marble plinth of the Taj Mahal. Many such features of the Taj remain unknown to the public so long as they see it only as a tomb. If the public knew how much it is missing in the Taj Mahal it will insist that the government unseal its many stories. Two doorways at either end of this corridor in the right side wall leading to inner apartments have been sealed by Shahjahan. If those doorways are opened, important evidence concealed inside by Shahjahan may come to light.One of the 22 locked rooms in the secret storey beneath the marble platform of the Taj Mahal. Strips of ancient Hindu paint are seen on the wall flanking the doorway. The niches above had paintings of Hindu idols, obviously rubbed off by Muslim desecraters. The rooms may be seen door within door in a row. If the public knew that the Taj Mahal is a structure hiding hundreds of rooms, they would insist on seeing the whole of it. At present they only peep into the grave chamber and walk away

Burharpur is a very ancient historic city on the Central Railway between Khandwa and Bhusawal junctions. Burhanpur and the nearby Asirgarh (fort) used to provide hospitality to Hindu royals proceeding north or south on pilgrimage, weddings or military expeditions. Barhanpur has many magnificent mansions which are currently being described as mosques and tombs of alien Islamic invaders. This building is one such ancient Hindu royal palace captured by the Moghuls. Mumtaz died here during her 14^th delivery around 1630 A.D. while she and Shahjahan were camping here. She is said to be buried in a Hindu pavilion in front of this palace (below)

As previously explained, these photos that were discovered are black and white and found in a simple album in India. Except for old age and some water damage on some of them (creating white spots in areas), most are still in relatively good condition. They all have the stamp on the back which states, “Archaeology Survey of India,” verifying their authenticity. Each photograph was accompanied by a typed caption taped in the album near the photo, explaining the subject of the photo and what it means. The captions accompany the photos on the following pages just as they were written in the album, so the style of English and the explanations are kept the same. They are obviously written from an Indian perspective, but provide most interesting insights into what is shown. Whatever I may say about the photos are displayed. Otherwise, I let the photos and the captions speak for themselves, as they were found.

Research and compilation by

gyandotcom

Are We Corrupt? or We are Promoting Corruption? Focus Story.

The most disquieting aspect of the widespread corruption in India is the fact that it is not anymore confined to politicians or the government machinery alone. It is prevalent amongst almost every section of the society at every level.As the practice of corruption is a dishonest act, one has to think that most of the Indians are dishonest, which could be different only in degree between the individuals. As the reason for the dishonesty is greediness and the desire to get things done at any cost one can think that most of the country men are greedy and do not anymore think that the means should justify the ends. This is not a flattering statement and many readers would desire that it would not be so and such statement could have been avoided. But, the fact is that most of the Indians are involved in corrupt practices in one way or the other, either due to greed or due to so called compulsion. In any case, the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of not getting involved in corrupt dealings is conspicuous by its absence amongst the most.Today, if one would say that any particular Indian is honest to the core, it could only be a case of exception rather than a rule.The study of world phenomenon on corruption has repeatedly branded India as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Unfortunately, this view has not disturbed most of the Indians at all and they do not seem to care as to what others think of them; so long as the existing systems and practices would allow them to make money and get things done in one way or the other.The irony is that India is still considered to be a very religious country and it is still widely believed that the religion is the basis of Indian life, thoughts and actions. This is obviously true, considering the fact that there are hundreds of temples, churches and mosques spread all over the country and they are all densely visited day in and day out by the feverishly praying Indians.
Is not religious ethos contrary to corruption and dishonest practices ?The unfortunate situation in India is that those who call themselves most religious are often found to have indulged themselves in dishonest practices on many occasions. Several of the religious centres, of all religions, are suspected to be steeped in nepotism, as such incidents have been repeatedly published in the press & Media.

It does not shock Indians anymore to know that not only the politicians, ministers and IAS & IPS officers are corrupt but even the judges, professors, doctors,Bankers,Lawyers,Railways, Transport,Police, Govt low cadre Employees and NGO organisations are almost 90% are corrupt 10 % remains is the public who paid bribe to these people.Corruption is not only prevalent amongst rich who are greedy in spite of possessing enough but also prevalent amongst poor.Now,

what can be the future of the Indian society in such conditions?

It can be only frustration, chaos, unrest and even bloodshed in the not too distant future.What is very sad and extremely disquieting about this country is that Ministers suspected to be involved in murder. Chief ministers of swindling crores of public money, senior police officers of molestation charges are all living in comforts and enjoying positions, thus effectively exposing the fact that the crusade against corruption has finally failed in India.Even as the vicious cycle of corruption would continue with one swindling the other, there could be a number of persons who would be left out of this cycle due to inefficiency or commitment to the cause of truth and such persons would be driven down to despair.

Corruption not only has become a pervasive aspect of Indian politics but also has become an increasingly important factor in Indian elections. The extensive role of the Indian state in providing services and promoting economic development has always created the opportunity for using public resources for private benefit. As government regulation of business was extended in the 1960s and corporate donations were banned in 1969, trading economic favors for under-the-table contributions to political parties became an increasingly widespread political practice. During the 1980s and 1990s, corruption became associated with the occupants of the highest echelons of India’s political system. Rajiv Gandhi’s government was rocked by scandals, as was the government of P.V. Narasimha Rao. Politicians have become so closely identified with corruption in the public eye that a Times of India poll of 1,554 adults in six metropolitan cities found that 98 percent of the public is convinced that politicians and ministers are corrupt, with 85 percent observing that corruption is on the increase.How serious is corruption in India, and how great an obstacle to fast growth? Most people would say corruption is very high and a serious obstacle to the 10% growth now sought by politicians.

A joint study by CMS and Transparency International in 2007-08 asked people of their experiences in dealing with 11 government departments. No less than 62% of people said that they had paid bribes or paid “facilitators” to get goods and services that they were entitled to. The study estimated that Rs 21,068 crore per year was paid in such “small” corruption. Three-fourth of citizens felt that corruption was increasing. An interesting point has been made about corruption by Deena Khatkhate in his recent book Ruminations of a Gadfly. He cites sociological studies to show that in non-corrupt states like Denmark people in a village hardly know one another, and family ties are weak — members do not even regularly attend family weddings. But people in an Indian village are in close contact with neighbours, and have strong ties within families and communities. People in authority will be much more corrupt in India, says Khatkhate, since tradition approves the giving of priority to one’s family, caste and religious group over abstract ideals like the public interest. But in Denmark and other developed countries, public interest is viewed as top priority, and this notion is facilitated by the lack of strong family and social networks.

He also gives examples of Indians who blossomed when they went abroad, but could not have achieved similar success in Indian conditions, marred by cronyism, political interference, and wooden bureaucratic rules. Lakshmi Mittal says that if he tried to buy an existing steel plant in India, he would spend half his life chasing netas and babus, whereas he could complete takeovers abroad in a few months. Economists like Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati, management gurus like CK Prahlad and Pankaj Ghemawat, and astronomers like S Chandrashekhar all attained great heights abroad, which they couldn’t have in India. If corruption, political interference and senseless rules in India make life so difficult, economic growth should be slow. Investment and growth can be high only if property rights are safe and contracts are honoured. If both are endangered by corruption, then investment and growth should be low. But, surprisingly, India has averaged almost 9% growth in the last four years.

Look at different states. The 2006-7 survey showed that the five least corrupt states were Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. These states (with the possible exception of Kerala) have attracted a lot of investment in the last decade. This suggests that low corruption does indeed improve growth.

The most corrupt states, according to the survey, are Assam (top most in Corruption) Bihar (worst by far), Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan,UP. Investors certainly avoid the three worst states, but invest massively in Karnataka and Rajasthan, both of which are fast-growing. Tamil Nadu is also corrupt and fast-growing. How do we explain this? Maybe petty corruption is high in Karnataka and Rajasthan but big corruption — serious extortion — is low. We simply do not know. The Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International measures business perceptions, covering big as well as petty corruption. It does not provide statewise data for India, but provides comparisons across countries. It measures corruption on scale from 0 (totally corrupt) to 10 (no corruption at all). This index consistently shows countries like Denmark, Finland New Zealand and Singapore among the least corrupt countries, with a score of more than nine. Developing countries generally have appallingly low scores, but improving over time. India scored just 2.63 in 1996. This rose gradually to 3.5 in 2006.This is only a marginal improvement. But it’s better than the worsening that many citizens claim to see. China is no better than India. China’s score has also improved just marginally, from 2.43 in 1996 to 3.5 in 2006. Pakistan fares worse, edging up from 1 to 2.4. But all three are fast-growing countries. Indeed, China is a growth superstar. This would seem to imply that high corruption is not fatal for growth. Yet in Africa, corruption appears to be a major cause of economic stagnation.

How do we explain this puzzle?

First, there are many sorts of corruption, and some are worse than others for growth. In states where businessmen pay a hundred fixed, petty sums for clearances, corruption can be no more onerous than a modest tax. In some states, politicians want to maximise money to the exclusion of all else, while in other places politicians want to facilitate industrial growth even while making money. Businessmen say there are “honest” politicians (and states) that will take money and deliver, while other “dishonest” ones will take money and then not deliver.

We need a lot more research to throw light on different sorts of corruption and their different impacts on growth. Only then will we understand why exactly corrupt Bihar grows slowly while corrupt Tamil Nadu grows fast & how to eliminate the root cause of Corruption in india.

Gyandotcom

Bihar Flood and New Flood Mitigation System for india. A Report by Gyandotcom

Despite measures taken by the concerned departments to prevent them floods continue to menace the country. The situation demands a more scientific and efficient system in place.
THE GEO-CLIMATIC CONDITIONS of India make the country prone to natural disasters like floods and tsunamis. The frequency and intensity of floods has grown in the country over the years primarily because of the increased encroachment of flood plains. India receives an annual rainfall of 400 million hectare meters. 75 per cent of the annual rainfall is received during monsoon (from June to September) and, as a result almost all the rivers carry heavy discharge during these four months. Flood situation arises in India almost every year and hence it is important to prepare for a disaster in advance. Floods displace a number of people and cause heavy loss of life and property. The economy also gets affected due to damage of crops directing affecting the agriculture sector. The country needs a better and effective flood mitigation system to ensure the safety of its people and economy.

The Survey of Bihar by Gyandotcom detailed Report

NATURE OF THE DISASTER: FLOODCurrently the flood situation is improving and the relief and rehabilitation process is continuing in the affected districts.Approximately 16.5 million people have been displaced by flood this year in Bihar, where 394,900 houses have collapsed rising the death toll to 419.AREA AFFECTED:• Number of Districts : 24 (Sitamarhi, Nalanda,Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Patna, Katihar,E.Champaran, W. Champaran, Sheohar, Gopalganj,Smastipur, Madhubani, Saharsa Supaul, Shekhpura,Siwan, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnea, Madhepura andKhagaria, Begusarai, Saran, Lakheesarai)• Numbers of Blocks Affected: 203• No of Panchayats 2,252• Numbers of Villages affected: 8,197• Numbers of marooned Villages: 357• Life loss: 419 [Govt. sources]• Cattle Loss: 1,377• Population affected: 15.7 million• Houses damaged: 394,900 estimated value isRs.4,502.4 million• Total Area affected: 1.85 million hectaresDISTRICT DETAILS :No of DistrictsNo of Blocks affectedSitamarhi17Nalanda9Darbhanga18Seohar4Saharsa6Muzafarpur8East Champaran19West Chamaparan7Saran6Siwan5Gopalganj7Samastipur9Madhubani19Supaul8Madhepura3Patna4Katihar10Khagaria6Begusarai4Shekhpura6Lakhisarai4Purnea8Araria9Kissanganj7

(DAMAGE BY SECTOR)Lifeline and critical facilities: Estimated Value of damage to public properties – Rs. 2,980.5 millionAgriculture:• Cropped area affected: .8 million hectares• Estimated value of crop loss: Rs. 3,963.7 million• Standing crops in 0.2 million hectares worth 1,730 million. have beenaffected so far.Road And Communication:National Highway 57 has a long breach, National Highway 104 has breachesat 19 places and National Highway 77 has breaches at 40 places. The roadcommunication to Sitamarhi, which was completely cut off, has been restoredand the repair work is still continuing. Heavy loss had occurred in road networkespecially in north Bihar due to the recent floods affecting the relief work.Road, power and communication infrastructure had become dysfunctional in Madhubani, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districtsbut now in some places the road communication has been restored.UNV doctors assisting with medical helpHealth Facilities: There are increase in the number of diarrhea, kala azar andmany cases of snakebites in the flood-affected districts. Health infrastructureshave been damaged. Some of the PHCs require live saving drugs like ORS, Antisnake venom, Anti rabies, Drugs for fever, cough and cold. as reported byDistrict Magistrates. Now around 560 health centers and 281 veterinary centersare operating. At least 18 people have died due to Kala azar disease in EastChamparan district of north Bihar. Waterlogged houses and cattle-sheds arelikely to emerge as a breeding ground for the kala-azar vector and sand fly’.Currently 2 UNV doctors are providing health assistance to Sitamarhi/Darbhanga DistrictPucca houses damagedShelter:Flood had its severe impact on the habitat and shelter sector. A total of houses394,900 have been damaged. More damage is expected once the floodwaterrecedes from the water logged and submerged places. Most Pucca houses havebeen washed away near the line of breaches. There is very little flood proofing inthe existing structures.PROJECTED EVOLUTION/SECONDARY THREATS:• Sanitation will be a major problem for these areas as most of the peopleare residing on the roads and embankments. Temporary toilets arerequired to keep the environment clean, which will help in controlling the spread of epidemic.• Ready to eat food is more suitable for these areas as availability of fuel will be a problem.• As rainfall trend shows that there will be heavy rainfall in the month of August and September and the situation maycontinue till October.• ORS packets are not adequate for the affected areas. Most of the doctors are busy in health camps and may needmore doctors with medicines after receding of the water. There is a need of bleaching powders, lime and halogentablets immediately for the 24 districts. Threat of epidemic as water recedes• Health problem will be a major threat to these areas. Immunization istotally stopped after 2ndJuly 2002 due to communication disruptionand people are on the road.• Fodder will be a major problem for these areas after few days, andthere is chance of epidemic among the animals due to stagnation ofwater.
There will be no Crop in all affected areas before October. Here most of the people are marginal farmer oragricultural labour, they may not get any opportunity for their livelihood. Migration cannot be ruled out.• Food is required for the affected population for next three months, as government has already declared that eachfamily will get one-quintal wheat and 250/- per month, the existing stock is inadequate.• Fuel will be a major problem in terms of availability when wheat is distributed.• Drinking water is a major problem those who are residing on the road and embankments.• Most families are having cattle’s and there is no separate space for the cattle’s, vaccination and fodder. Govt. supportis not adequate. • Apprehension of eye flu and diarrhea in the affected areas cannot be ruled.NATIONAL RESPONSE: Army in Relief• 3 Army helicopters and military boats had been engaged for Reliefand Rescue. 29,397 food packets have been airdropped and 154,744packets by military boats and 1,918.15 quintals of other materialshave been air dropped in Seohar, Darbhanga, Madhubani since 24.07.2002• Govt. has provided polythene for 40,000 families• Facing a grim flood situation in 24 of 38 districts, Bihar has requestedthe federal government to release Rs. 2 billion from the NaturalCalamity Relief Fund to speed up relief and rescue work.• With the flood water receding in many places spraying of DDT isunderway and more is required in view of Kala azar cases being reported.• Centre has announced to provide 25,000tonnes of food grains free of cost to the state for distribution among the floodaffected people• State govt. asked for Rs 6,000 millions at once from the Centre.•The Central Team has already visited Bihar [22nd to 25thof this month] for damage assessment.•CRF has released Rs.600 millions to Bihar and an amount of Rs .2 millions, to each district for medicalhealth has been allotted as part of Central Relief Fund.• Bihar is facing an acute shortage of SAG [Sodium antimony Gluconate ] regarded as the first line Kala Azar drug inIndia has asked the federal government for immediate supply of 25,000 vials of SAG.ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES: Relief Camps• Action has been taken to assess the drug position of each district toidentify any health problem. Temporary shelters are beingmobilized for the evacuees.• The relief and rehabilitation department have already allocated Rs.160 millions for relief work. Government flood control camps havebeen activated/ Police outposts have also been activated. Reliefstocks available at Panchayat & block head quarters. People’srepresentatives are busy in distribution of relief materials. ReliefCamps: 764 functioning.• Bihar, Chief Minister have directed the district collectors to assessthe damage and Indira Awas Yojana houses to be constructed forBPL house holds. The dependents of each people killed will be paid Rs. 50,000 as compensation.OPERATIONS / MOBILIZATION OF RESOURCES:o 7,112 boats been deployed; three helicopters were used for air dropping. 19 Powerboat had been sent to the affecteddistricts and some army boats had been deployed.o Gratuitous Relief as Wheat distributed: 161,367.10 Qtls.o Readymade food distributed: 7,446.94 Qtlso Matchboxes: 151,458 [nos]o Candles: 179,973 [nos]o Polythene Sheets [distributed]: 3,790,49 metres.o Kerosene. Oil distributed: 79,583 litres.
Cash Dole: Rs.66.2 milliono Mobile healths Units are functioning at certain sites in Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.o State government has provided tents to around 5,000 families only and unable to mobilize more temporary shelters.They are requesting all developmental agencies to provide tents and polythene. Temporary shelter is priority need ofthe state.CO-ORDINATION:On 28.082002 the 4th coordination meeting was held in the Relief Commissioner’s Office, Govt. of Bihar, Patna which wasattended by the Deputy Secretary & under secretary of Relief and Rehabilitation department along with representatives fromUNICEF, Indian Red Cross, State Director, Care India, Jharkhand Branch & CENCORED Patna. Gradually more and moreorganizations are now interested to attend the meeting for supporting the government of Bihar to tackle the unprecedentedflood situation. The Deputy Secretary, Relief and Rehabilitation, Govt.of Bihar chaired the meeting and shared the presentsituation and requirement to fulfill the basic needs of the flood affected population. He also assured to provide all possiblesupport to agencies involved in relief and rehabilitation work. Discussions were made on agencies to work on different districtson various interventions. . CARE India suggested intervening in Khagaria and Madhubani district and necessary plan of actionwill be decided soon. Then Under Secretary, Relief and Rehab briefed the participants on UNDP’s support in the flood-affected areas along with setting up of state/District control room. He also briefed about the efforts taken by the state govt. totackle the flood situations. According to him people have started going back to their own village as water has receded in thevillages.On 4.09.2002 the 5thCoordination meeting was held in the Relief Commissioner’s Office, Govt. of Bihar, Patna, which wasattended, by the Deputy Secretary & Under Secretary of Relief and Rehabilitation dept. along with representatives fromUNICEF, Indian Red Cross, UNDP, CONCERN-Orissa, BGVS- Patna, EFICOR-Delhi, CEDev- Patna, CENCORED- Patna,Action Aid- Patna. The Deputy Secretary, Relief and Rehabilitation, Govt. of Bihar chaired the meeting and shared the presentsituation. The issues discussed upon:o Relief Commissioner’s office support to agencies involved in relief and rehabilitation work.o Organizations present in the meeting were asked to share their strategy and area of intervention with reliefcommissioner’s office and similarly consult District Magistrate for selection of Block /G.P/ Village level interventions.o Participant to avoid duplication of efforts and suggested organizational mapping of intervention. It was also discussedthat local NGOs in consultation with the district Magistrate should initiate district level coordination.o Then Under secretary, Relief and Rehab briefed about the efforts under taken by the state govt. to tackle the floodsituations and apprise all participant about the gaps in intervention.o Considering the large scale devastation in housing sector, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary relief andrehabilitation suggested organization to undertake construction of temporary houses with water/fire resistanttechnology which has been introduced by HUDCO and is suitable for flood affected areas. Capacity building ofcommunity through training programme on such technology was suggested by different organization.o View was shared that the water has started receding and population residing on the embankment are going back totheir villages. Cracks have started appearing on the silted areas due to lack of water in few areas.o UNICEF representative proposed flood preparedness training programme at district level on vaccination andalternate housing technology.oStandard IEC material on hygiene promotion and sanitation as flood preparedness/awareness was also suggested.
Items mobilized so far are :AgencyPolythene/tarpaulins/ tentsPVCRollFamilypacketMedicineBleachingpowder(kg)ClothsVolunteers/HumanresourcesAny otherUNICEF15 millionHalogenTablets forChlorination36,000 kg[1,420bags]IndianRedCross Society5,000polythenes, 45tents, 38 rubberboats2,400sqfeets4,000families2,000childrenUNDP3,500 familieshave beenalready given toSamastipurdistrict10 lifejacketshave been givento DM Khagariafrom UNDPMedicinehave beendistributedthroughmobilehealthcamps inSamastipurandDarbhangafor 20,000populationIT facilitator,Logistic andother HumanResources forimmediateassessment, 2Doctors aresupporting thedistrictadministrationwithmedicines.One set ofComputerto StateControlroom withinternetfacilityCENCOREDVolunteers forreliefdistributionSatya SaiSeva SamitiFoodpacketsORS,HalogenClothesEFFICORFood for1,000families.Govt. ofOrissa[ThroughUNDP Orissa]1,000 communityTentsSamadhanHealthcamps atMadhubandistrictSwadhinamAssessing thelooms forrevivalPRIORITY NEEDS: Shelter on Embankments• The immediate need is dry food and baby food• Polythene- as there are so many people taking shelter on embankments, railtracks and roadsides.• Drinking water is a major problem for these areas especially for those who areliving on the embankment and roads.• Sanitation is a problem for women.• Cattle feed and veterinary camps / vaccination Programme in various places.•Temporary shelter and family kits.• Inadequate health care facilities are available for the evacuees and somecares to be taken for specific diseases like Kalajar ,Diarrheoa.• All schools are closed and no educational activities for last one month
Health Secretary has stated that they have stocks of medicines to cope with the floods, with the exception of anti-snake venom sera.• The government has requested for kala azar drugs be supplied by any agency as they are facing an acute shortageof SAG [Sodium antimony Gluconate ] regarded as the first line Kala Azar drug in India.• ClothesGAP ANALYSISSectorItems RequiredProvidedBalance RequirementHousing: 335,809house damaged –Temporary Shelter for1,510,855 population• 670,000 polythenesheets250, 000 polythene sheets1000 community tentsfrom Orissa Govt.20,000 polythene sheets• Boats for reliefdistributionandevacuation6902[mechanized,country, govt. and privateboats]More rubber power boat is requiredfor relief distribution as the water flowis increasing at Khagaria andBegusarai dist.Rescue and reliefdistribution• Life jacket forvolunteers, those whoare involved for rescueand relief distribution10 Jackets90 life jackets• Safe drinking waterNot adequateHalogen tab., mobile water purifiers,tube well at embankments• Bleaching powder1,00,000 Kg8,000 bagsDrinking water for15.32 millionpopulation• Tube wellArranged locally20000 tube wells for camp site andthe embankments, roads, railwaytracksSanitation: 1510855people atembankments /roads/ railway tracks• Sanitation facilitiesNot adequateUrgent need as people are living onthe embankments and contaminatingthe areasFood• Baby food/supplementarynutrition for thechildrenNot suppliedBaby food required for more than 5.4million children for three months• ORSAvailable in PHCs50,00,000 packets• Life saving drugsAvailable in PHCs andfundprovidedforprocurementAnti snake venom, anti rabies, ARI,Fever, skin infection, Kalajar.DiarrheaHealth• Doctors forinaccessible areasHealth camp at 10 areaspatient checked 900.Clothes• Clothes7,300 piecesChildren and WomenEducation: 7,967school buildings aredamaged• Study materials/ booksfor students• Temporary schoolbuildingAgriculture: 1.25million hac. crop landaffected• Short duration cropseeds• Support for removal ofsand
Support for Pre-Rabiand RabiLivestock: 920cattle’s lostAffected 24.49 Lakh• Support for people wholost their cattle• Fodder for theremaining animals• Vaccination of theanimals & vetenarycareVillages surroundedwith water – 3191• Cooked Food / DryStuffs• Health Camps• Safe drinking waterSupply of Cooked Food / Dry Stuffsfor the marooned persons withadequate Drinking water and Healthcamps with Medicines.Achievements till date : UNDP Support•UNDP is supporting the local administration in providing temporaryshelter and other essentials. UNDP is assisting the Relief Commissioner,Bihar in setting up of a strong coordinating System with the help ofCoordination Specialist, Information Technology and ManagementInformation System support. OCHA and Govt. of Norway Grant are beingused for provision of temporary roofing and emergency drinking waterprovision for population living on roads, embankments and railway tracks.NUNV livelihood and Habitat Specialist have assessed the need andpossibility of a recovery programme. 2 NUNV doctors are providing healthassistance to Sitamarhi / Darbhanga Districts.• UNICEF has mobilized 1,420 bags of bleaching powders to health dept. for onward transmission to districts.ORS packetsare not adequate for the affected areas.• IRCS, Patna is reviewing the relief operation and condition of health services in the flood-affected areas. In most of theplaces the Indian Red Cross is supporting government for relief distribution. So far 5000 Polythenes have already beendistributed 4000 family packs, 60 boats, 150 tents and 500 packets Atta for 500 families• USAID and Concern World Wide have shown their interest and will conduct a preliminary assessment. Swiss Red Crossteam is here for assessment of the situation.• UNDP has provided polythene for 3,500 families at Samastipur and 1,000 community tents from Govt. of Orissa havealready been supplied to Bihar.•One set of Computer with all accessories have been provided to State control room for database and information sharing.• Sahara India Parivar has distributed 3100 polythene sheets, 3,300 sarees and dhotis to the flood affected population.Future Plan of action:• UNICEF, Bihar will provide 30,000 polythene sheets .100,000 kg bleaching powder, 500,000 halogen tablets have alreadybeen provided to health department for water chlorination.•IRCS is planning to provide 50,000 family kits to the affected areas.• UNDP is planning to support strengthening the coordination system at state and district levels. It has discussed its futureplan of action for Recovery Programme wherein 30 model villages will be established for shelter and livelihoodinterventions. Representative from UNDP shared the strategy of the relief operation. Immediate relief operation has beenplanned for children food need, temporary shelter, Health and Veterinary camps and survival kits for the flood affectedpopulace UNDP and UNICEF have committed to provide support for strengthening the State Relief Control Room. Thiswould enhance the:o Communication Systemo Developing database system and vulnerability mapping for decision makingo Regular updating of information on the website.UNDP discussed about its plan to upgrade control room in five most affected district of Bihar with a view to strengthen theDistrict Disaster Information Management database. UNDP has requested IRCS for providing IT Volunteers for the aboveinitiative. IRCS would confirm the deputation of the volunteers soon.•Indian Red Cross Society will provide medicine worth Rs.15 lac in 11 districts and 10,000 family kits worth Rs. 1,500 isplanned to be provided.
Situation: Bihar Flood CONCERN is planning to provide immediate basic shelter and water needs for 2,000 flood affected families, and Items tobe distributed are ORS, Halogen Tabs. , Polythene sheets, Jerry Cans, Rope and Kitchen Utensil.• EFICOR has selected Dhanoli block of Darbanga district for flood interventions. They have surveyed 20-25 villages andare planning to provide different kinds of support to 4,000 families.o Food support for at least 2 weeks will be provided.o As per present need assessment, people have requested for blankets instead of plastic sheetso Water and Sanitation Programme will be undertaken – 15 days medical camps will be organized and hygienekits will be provided.o 10-hand pumps renovation in each village will be done.CE-Devo Planning to take-up construction of houses using locally available indigenous housing materials like bambooand grasses in Darbhanga District.o Water quality monitoring will be done for water bodies and shared with govt. department for furthersanitation Programme.Action Aid, Patna:o Will organize health camp in Kusareswar, Kiratpur blocks of Darbhanga district and would provide medicinefor Kalazar.

The Flood Mitigation system for india.

During the flood event, four decision-supporting systems are the required tasks for flood mitigation center. They are the flood forecasting system, the real-time monitoring for flood scenario system, the flood warning system, and the emergency response system. Based on these tasks, the flood mitigation grid was formed. the application and service. the system is responsible for building grid resources and varieties of platforms. Network, storage, and computer are the key resources to form the Cyber-environment and the data grid, computing grid. To enrich the pervasive computing capability in the flood Cyber-environment, the technologies that support real-time communication, remote-taking sensor data, and advanced visualization are incorporated. Access Grid technology has been used for real-time communication for group-to-group interactions across the Grid. The development integrates the modern video codecs, such as MPEG4 and H.264, into the video program. Hence, it is able to do the high-quality video conference. In the sensor network technology,the embedded system and worked with hardware companies to layout the necessary boards to collect the field river and reservoirs data for flood monitoring. The embedded system is targeted to be remote-controlled via IPv6 and IPv4. All the data, including video, audio and data from data logger, are collected real-time and archived to be analyzed by domain knowledge experts.

The structure of the Grid application system could be depicted as a three-level architecture based on the functions it provides. They are the fabric service level to connect facilities such as network, computing, and storages; the grid platform level developed by Middleware; and many kinds of application in the grid application level. And the main categories of the grid application level could be divided as the data grid to acquire and transfer the distributed hydraulic data swiftly; the computing grid to apply distributed high-performance computing resources; the sensor network to get the hydrological scenario of the river through remote monitoring images; and the Access Grid to communicate among relevant members for the mitigation policy by holding a multi-users video and data conference easily and smoothly. The job of flood forecasting couples the application of Data Grid and Computing Grid, while the job of dealing with emergency situations resulting from floods might couple the sensor network to assess the flood and hazard, and the Access Grid to have the consultative conference about policy decision.

gyandotcom

How relevant are the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi today?

“How relevant are the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi today? “

This is the question that is uppermost in the minds of all thinking people who have learnt to set great store by the revolutionary ideas of Gandhi and this is the question that “How relevant are the ideals of mahatma Gandhi today? “ tries to explore, objectively and from many points of view.

The study of Gandhi is not merely the study of his life, work and ideas; it is also the daily evolving application of those ideas to new challenges and situations. If the burden of the article is that Gandhi is intensely relevant to our times, it makes this assertion not dogmatically but with the humility of scientific exploration.

Gandhi is certainly as relevant if not more for the country today. His vision for the country and his dreams for the community as a whole still hold good for India. He taught us that irrespective of obstacles you encounter, you should pursue the goals you have set. He got the community to assimilate and reflect true values of humanity and to participate in tasks that would promote the greater good of society at large. These issues are still relevant to what free India is and represents.

Gandhi’s ideas are still very relevant, but I really don’t know if people in this day and age see a way of translating it into today’s context. True, what he promoted and the causes he espoused were so long back and so long distanced from today, but I feel that his ideals just need re-interpretation to the India we live in now. Though not much is spoken about Gandhi as it was said about two decades ago, there is still a lot of truth and substance in what he stood for and who he is.
While our senior citizens still uphold Gandhian principles, the younger generation does not adhere to most of these values. I feel that his relevance is not so strong now as a citizen of the nation have failed to pass on Gandhian values to the youth and have also failed to make Gandhi’s ideals pertinent to the India of today. How can we say that any of his visions are being upheld today?

Till few years ago no one could have even dreamed of asking the question suggested in the title to this article. How can Gandhi be the subject of a debate! His achievements are so obvious. But after two decades of reforms, India is a different country. Indians, as a people have changed; our aspirations and our ambitions have changed. Now we are ready to take a new look at our historical past and perhaps glean new perspectives from it. Imbued with a new iconoclastic streak, we are no longer ready to accept leaders at their face value; now we yearn for a healthy debate over their contribution to our society.

Though Gandhi died within few months of independence, it is his philosophy that guided the young nation during its formative years. His philosophy of non-violence, temperance and simple living may not have led us on the path of being a superpower, but it did help us survive those tumultuous years. Amongst many nations that became independent during the 1940s, 50s and 60s, only India remained a democracy, where reasonably free and fair elections get held on a regular basis. Most other nations in Asia and Africa succumbed to the lure of communist or military dictatorship.

Indian democracy survived and became stronger over the years, only because we had something that other nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and China didn’t. We had Mahatma Gandhi and his message – “that the answer to violence does not lie in violence; that hatred should not be countered by hatred; that the moral imperative must prevail; that right ends can be obtained only by right means; that eradication of poverty and service of the poor through education and effective empowerment ought to be the priority goals of economic policy; that there is no clash of civilizations but only a pressing need for the celebration of diversity, pluralism and mutual tolerance.” The name of Mahatma Gandhi, today, transcends the bounds of race, religion, and nation- states, and has emerged as the Prophetic Voice of the twenty-first century Gandhi is remembered for his passionate adherence to the practice of Nonviolence and his supreme humanism After the Great Buddha and Jesus, he once again demonstrated that Non-violence could also be an effective instrument of social change.

Gandhi successfully demonstrated to a World, weary with wars and continuing destruction that adherence to Truth and Non-violence is not meant for individual behavior alone but can be applied in global affairs too.

The unshackling of the majestic personality of Black Power, destroying the enslaving apparatus of Apartheid in South Africa, was the culmination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s non-violent fight against racial discrimination that he had launched on the cold wintry night, on the isolated railway platform of Petermaritzburg in faraway South Africa on June 7, 1893.

Had Gandhi been alive today he would have been the least surprised, at the new turn of events in South Africa, for this is only an affirmation of the implicit faith he had in his mission.

Gandhi had relentless and unshakable optimism He remained an optimist till his last Gandhi would often say, “My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the individual to develop non-violence”.

“Good” said Gandhi, “travels at a snail’s pace” On another occasion, he wrote, “Non-violence is a plant of slow growth It grows imperceptibly but surely” The sheer power of these words and the impression they leave on our hearts, derives from the fact that they are the quiet expression of the credo of a man, whose beliefs and actions were in complete accord. Gandhi would have us work ceaselessly for the realization of what the sociologists call “common human” values, for the triumph of the common human way of life.

Mahatma held up before all mankind the image of what every human being could be; he held up before us all a mirror reflecting the spiritual heights all of us could reach The world in which Gandhi was born, lived, worked and died, was beset by a number of problems, some peculiar to his age others recurrent in every age He worked for universal human values His life is a sure guide to a meaningful existence He embodied the Eternal Indian concept of the superior being-of the Mahatma Anyone can become a Mahatma if one makes a vocation of living the meaningful life- putting principle above expediency, duty above pleasure-service above self, as reflected in the life of the Buddha or several of our epic heroes. Gandhi had a dream for India Realizing this dream has become a nightmare Today, we are living in a constant adjustment to changing conditions, which require a different kind of discipline. Now it rests on our shoulders, yours and mine to see that the democratic values in our country remains intact and that social justice, equity, gender equality is achieved for all Rights should follow duties If we are able to achieve this, we shall be helping to reinstate Mahatma Gandhi’s dream, I firmly believe it can be done. Gandhi’s unfinished task is the biggest challenge before the youth After all it is their future It is their world Does not look like it Does it? But it is Gandhi had great faith in the ultimate success of his mission, because he had infinite faith in the individual’s capacity to change He firmly held that the human nature is capable of radical reorientation; all one needs is a will to explore his own true self This explains why Gandhi, all through his life was striving to take humanity on to the path of spiritual and moral growth The progress of civilization, as it has evolved through the ages, id proof that human nature is a developing entity, capable of change for the better.

Remember that the contemporary crisis demands not only a careful analysis of the roots of current social disorder and strategies of transition away from the current violent system but also demands a total rejection of some of our present narrow cherished beliefs, images, creeds , and above all, a drastic reorientation of our life style and restructuring our political, social and economic institutions on radical moral lines.

Can we face the challenge of Gandhi’s ideals and ideas? They have not yet been fully utilized The Revolutionary Gandhi, who was far ahead of his times, has not been fully understood by the younger generation Gandhi’s thoughts need to be disseminated amongst our youth It is the ideas, which have a stupendous role in taking the human society forward; towards the desired pacifist goal. It is said that it is not the conquerors but the long line of men and women of thought, individually powerless, who are ultimately the rulers of the world Mahatma Gandhi certainly belongs to this August Hall of Fame- His Life’s message will lead a new humanity on to a new path of Universal love and Harmony. Today, Gandhi is the sign at the World’s crossroads. Is it too late to retrace the steps and follow the non-violent path of recovery shown by Mahatma Gandhi? But is there a future for us at all, if we don’t- is the moot question.

What a clichéd question! It has been asked a countless times and will continue to be asked a countless times. While it’s always answered as yes or no, some basic elements of the principle that’s being popularized today as “Gandhigiri” are missed out.

The context is so important. For a plant to grow, it’s not enough that the seed is of good quality. It should also be planted in fertile soil, and further it has to be nurtured well for it to yield good fruit.

Let us not be overawed by Gandhi and the path he took. He was a human being like anyone of us, but the big difference was, he was an extraordinary man. He was a genius; he was one in a million. No one could rally around a disparate mass of people like he did. He devised a plan, worked selflessly for it to succeed. The British as rulers of the world had simply no answers to Gandhiji’s posers. An empire, where the sun never set, was humbled. Never before had one single man brought an empire down without spilling blood.

But, there is another side which reminds us that Gandhi was not a God. He was not a Saint. He was a politician. He was a strategist, only that the world hadn’t seen a politician like him. Gandhism had its limitations.

Ultimately, India won its Independence with so much blood spilt. It must have pained Gandhiji so much. His writings reflect his awareness of the limitations of his philosophy. It’s not a philosophy that guarantees absolute success. It doesn’t work everywhere with everyone all the time. How we apply his principles and on whom, how, when and where are equally important.

We didn’t spill blood fighting the British. It’s also important that the British, being what they are, respected Gandhiji, and didn’t allow blood to be split. But we spilt blood fighting among ourselves. We spilt blood, not while driving the British out, but while winning the freedom for ourselves. Gandhian principles worked with the British, but did it work with our own people? Blood continues to be spilt.

Everyone talks only of truth and non-violence; but very few of “spirit of sacrifice”. That, I think, embodies Gandhian ideals the best. Not surprisingly, that’s also the least practiced. Probably that’s what is needed for non-principle to succeed, that’s what is needed to ensure that blood is not spilt.

From what I have understood after reading about Gandhiji, is that he is one person who made full use of the “one-step-back-two-steps-forward” principle. He never hesitated to withdraw or retreat, when he was sure he could then rebound much stronger, which would then take him much farther. That was a crucial element of his strategizing. And it worked.

The word sacrifice has an aura around it. There’s no need for it. The little pleasures that we give up in our daily lives, the little adjustments that we all make in our daily lives with people around us, are also small sacrifices that make our lives much simpler, happier and worthwhile. Probably, this world can do with a little more of such sacrifices.

I guess, it’s here that we need to understand Gandhiji’s strategies, learn them and apply them in our everyday lives, wherever appropriate. We may or may not be able to change the entire world. But definitely we can, in our own small way, make a small change to the small world around us. The synergy of it works; only that we need to exploit this synergy much more.

2nd October Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. It is also the International Day of Nonviolence – a day to contemplate not just Gandhi’s effect on world politics, but to actively think about how his concepts of peace, nonviolence and civil disobedience can be applied to redress the injustice that characterizes our world today.

Gandhi’s contribution to the Indian freedom struggle was revolutionary because it brought the British government to its knees without resorting to violence. But more importantly, it gave the world a vision of alternative politics – that it was possible to counter violence with nonviolence. Additionally, Gandhi called upon those pitted against hegemony to draw upon their inner strength and courage of conviction more than logistics. The relevance of this thought is not lost in a world where the oppressed have very little to use in their fight against violent states and oppressor groups.

Gandhian thought looks hopelessly outdated in a world where violence is the preferred option rather than the last resort – irrefutable proof of which is emerging from Myanmar. But the politics Gandhi advocated offers no shortcuts to the world’s problems. It begins with those who intend to bring reforms, encouraging them to undergo an intense process of moral contemplation before they are ready to fight injustice.

Another important Gandhian philosophy is the belief in the morality inherent in all individuals, including the oppressors. So, the oppressed are not to indulge in violence but embrace its opposite until the oppressor comes face-to-face with his own violence and its dehumanizing effect on himself and the oppressed.

While Gandhi did diverge from Karl Marx, who saw social structures of oppression as having a life of their own (unlike Gandhi, who privileged the individual), the apostle of peace did see the structural basis of the British Empire and what was feeding into it. He advocated an economic nationalism which, more than seeking to replace British goods with Indian ones, radically redefined consumerism that would strike at the roots of capitalism itself. He advocated that no person should have more than he or she needs, so people could live frugally without overburdening the Earth. Gandhi lived this thought, using not more than two pieces of loincloth to clad himself – a practice that earned him the epithet of the “half-naked Fakir” from Winston Churchill.

Interestingly, Gandhi’s thoughts resonate today in most protests built around consumption. Protest groups target the brand image of corporations in an effort to force them give up environmentally unsound practices. As a final resort, consumers are encouraged to boycott products from unethical corporations. Though this strategy fulfills the short-term goal of getting the corporations back on track, it leaves the larger question of consumerism intact without targeting its excesses.

Gandhi also made an important contribution to the notion of human rights and, by extension, civil rights. The civil rights movement of the 1960s strongly drew from Gandhian thought with Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledging Gandhi as his hero. Gandhi believed that human rights were inalienable, which also applied to the human rights of the oppressor. He held these rights sacred and believed they should not be violated under any exigency. This explains his abhorrence of violence. Gandhi called off the no cooperation movement after the Chauri Chaura incident in which nationalists torched a police station, killing 22 police officers. Gandhi believed that the nation was not yet ready for mass movements, as morality continued to be an issue.

Gandhi’s uncompromising stand on violence and his propensity to see rightness more often on religion’s terms sits uneasily in a postmodern world. Equally troubling is his idealism that refuses to adapt to the situation. The absolute morality that he practiced often brought him in conflict with many, including his own son Harilal.

Gandhi inspires an alternative vision of politics and resistance at a time when oppression is not only getting more overt and physical but also more insidious. His ideology of nonviolence is a good point to start from when the temptation to answer violence with violence is overpowering. It may not succeed, but it opens a world of possibilities and encourages us to think outside of the box. More importantly, his life illustrates how radical ideas are first dismissed, only to be tested and embraced later.

But the greatest appeal about Gandhi for me is that he always knew he had feet of clay. He strived to achieve a state of moral impeccability by acknowledging his mortality. More importantly, he showed that it is ordinary people who make history.

Rohit Sharma

Gyandotcom

yeh kaisi bhakti? yeh kaisi Puja? Yeh kaisa Utsav? yeh kaisi Parampara?

aap khud dekhiye yeh kaisa ganesh festival hai jisme khud bhgwan ganesh ki murtiyon ki kya durdarsha hai?

kya yahi hai hamari parampara or bhakti devtao ke liye. kal mumbai me ganesh visarjan kiya gaya aaj bhi kiya gaya ..or visarjan ke baad unhi pratimaoo ki halat kuch aisi hoti hai..dukh hota hai aap bhi dekhe.

see your self plzz click to inlarge photos.

kya yahi hai bhagwan ? kya yahi likha hai hamare vedo or grantho me? kya yahi hai asli bhakti ?

kya yahi hai hamara dhram?

ya yeh hai sirf lakhoo rupye chanda jutane ka mehaz ak tareeke.

kindly comment on the reality behind indians festivals like ganesh & durga festival.

is this the right way to celebrate our Festivals?

kya hum sub ko milkar in festival ke liye koi our alternative nikalna chiye taki murtiyon ki yeh durdarsha na ho after the festival over.

by Rohit Sharma

for Gyandotcom

Assam State Zoo Guwahati Unable to Save Loris

In the last two years, the Assam State Zoo has rescued over six Slow Lorises from the outskirts of Guwahati city. Although listed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, these primates are still searching for a semblance of their natural habitat at the State Zoo. “We have not been able to provide them with proper enclosures having lights and other facilities. The Assam State Zoo does not yet have any nocturnal behavioral enclosure where we can put the Slow Loris together,” stated N. Mahanta, DFO Assam State Zoo.

The Bengal Slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis is a small-sized nocturnal primate that inhabits the forests of northeastern India. Despite being severely threatened by hunting and deforestation, lack of any information on its demography or ecology hampers the development of strategies to conserve and protect it at the State Zoo. “We have rescued them all from outskirts like Panjabari, Narangi, Beltola and other parts of Guwahati city. Most of the time it is the public who captured and handed them over to us for safekeeping. Due to their shy nature and low visibility they tend to be frightened,”

Their natural food habit is small insects, birds, eggs and other easily available food on high trees. But in the State Zoo these animals are being fed with boiled eggs, chicken meat and fruits. “We are trying to make them fit our available range of food. Also, the animals are not mating except the first pair who had given birth to a male Slow Loris which was incidentally killed by its own father,” said Doctor Gogoi of the Assam State Zoo. Slow Loris infants develop at a comparatively slow rate as compared with other nocturnal prosimians.

Slow loris populations have been declining and its status throughout its distribution range is not known. The numbers are very small and the limited survey conducted by the Indo-US Primate Project between 1994 and 1999 indicated their presence in few isolated pockets only. The Slow loris is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972 IUCN SSC Red Data Book listed this species as ‘Data Deficient’.

“If these animals are not been taken care of then they will be lost and we will have only their pictures to show to our coming generations,”.

by gyandotcom

Chandrayaan1 The Inside story Special Feature by Gyandotcom

The 525-kg lunar orbiter will carry as many as 11 instruments (payloads), including six from overseas — two from the US and one each from Britain, Sweden, Germany and Bulgaria.

ISRO had earlier proposed to launch the lunar probe on April 9 and if not on that day, then on April 23.

The Working Model of Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1

How it Works?

When
Chandrayaan-1 planned to be launched in 2008 using spacecraft and launch vehicle of ISRO. The mission is expected to have an operational life of about 2 years.

Government of India approved ISRO’s proposal for Chandrayaan-1 in November 2003.

Chandrayaan will be ready to launch in between October 19 and October 28.

chandrayaan 1 is now in lunar orbit. the scientific objective of the mission is

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives are

To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

The Simultaneous photo geological, mineralogical and chemical mapping through Chandrayaan-1 mission will enable identification of different geological units to infer the early evolutionary history of the Moon. The chemical mapping will enable to determine the stratigraphy and nature of the Moon’s crust and thereby test certain aspects of magma ocean hypothesis. This may allow to determine the compositions of impactors that bombarded the Moon during its early evolution which is also relevant to the formation of the Earth.

Scientific Objectives

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives are

To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

The Simultaneous photo geological, mineralogical and chemical mapping through Chandrayaan-1 mission will enable identification of different geological units to infer the early evolutionary history of the Moon. The chemical mapping will enable to determine the stratigraphy and nature of the Moon’s crust and thereby test certain aspects of magma ocean hypothesis. This may allow to determine the compositions of impactors that bombarded the Moon during its early evolution which is also relevant to the formation of the Earth.

Click here to enlarge

Radiation Environment of the Moon

Radiation environment of the Moon produced by solar radiation and solar and galactic cosmic rays: The reflectance spectrum is useful for mineral identification, the fluorescent X-ray spectrum and solar and galactic cosmic-ray produced gamma radiation for chemical mapping, and radiogenic gamma and alpha particle spectrum for mapping of radioactive nuclides (U, Th, K, etc.) and in understanding the leakage of radon from the lunar interior and its transport on the lunar surface. The uranium decay chain, which produces ²²²Rn and its daughters, forming a thin ‘paint’ on the lunar surface, are shown on the right. The temperature regimes on the sunlit and night side of the Moon and the permanently shadowed cold Polar Regions are shown schematically

Mission Objectives

To realise the mission goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support systems including Deep Space Network (DSN) station.

To realise the integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar polar orbit of about 100 km, in-orbit operation of experiments, communication/ telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientific utilisation by scientists.

by Gyandotcom

The Mystery of Roop Kund. Inside Story

Situated at an altitude of 5029 mts. in the interior of the Chamoli district, Roopkund is famous for the mysterious shallow lake of about 2 mts., with the edges covered with snow almost throughout the year. After the snow melts, skeletal remains which are believed to be 500-600 year old, many theories explain the findings but non seem satisfying. The lake is nestled amidst panoramic mountain scenery. According to the tradition the Royal family of Garhwal conducted Nanda Raj Jat to please their isht-devi, so that their kingdom would be prosperous and the enemies would be defeated. According to another legend the royal family undertakes the pilgrimage along with their purohits to seek forgiveness from Nanda Devi, and to offer ‘tarpan’ to one of their ancestors who died at Roopkund along with his pregnant wife and courtesans. Rajah Yashodhaval of Kannauj came on a pilgrimage to the dev bhoomi. His pregnant wife and women of the royal family accompanied him. He decided to go to Homkund along with his entourage. He didn’t heed to the advice that women were not allowed beyond Bedni-Kund. He broke the tradition and went ahead. At Roopkund the Rajah and his entourage perished mysteriously, most probably in a snow-blizzard. Hundreds of skeletons still lie scattered in and around Roopkund. There was a lot of controversy about the mystery of Roopkund. The general prejudice against the folk-lore led many scholars to attribute the bones to General Zorawar Singh of Kashmir, and his men, who are said to have lost their way and perished in the high Himalayas, on their return journey after the Battle of Tibet. Along with bones of humans, bones of horses have also been found there. But this theory does not explain the presence of female skeletons. Carbon dating of the skeletons, done of Crane and Griffin in 1958 proves that the bones are indeed between 500 to 800 years old. During the Raj Jat even today, ‘tarpan’ is performed for Rajah Yashodhaval and his entourage. The legend of Nanda is an integral part of the socio-cultural milieu of Uttarakhand. Shrines of Nanda Bhagwati are scattered all over Central Himalayas. To most of the hill-folk Nanda Devi is their isht-devi, and at the same times their outmarried daughter (dhyani). Her relationship to the people of Uttarakhand is somewhat similar to what Sita has to the people of Mithila. Sita is the daughter of Mithila and Nanda, also known as Gaura, is daughter of Uttarakhand.

The Nanda Devi Raj Jat pilgrimage, dating back to the 9th century, is mostly held in intervals of 12 years, when a four-horned Ram is born in one of the villages in the area.

The pilgrimage starts from Nauti village in Chamoli district on Tuesday and takes several days of trekking through the hilly terrain to reach the final destination of Homkund.

The image of the Goddess is taken on a palanquin along with offerings are taken in a procession, accompanied by bare-footed devotees. It is believed that the trek signifies Nanda’s (maiden name of Parvati) journey from her maternal village to Shiva’s abode in Homkund.

According to the folk songs recited during the festival, King Shalipal of Chandpur Garhi laid the foundation of the tradition. He also authorized his younger brother ‘Kunwar’ of Kansava to represent the royal house in the yatra with the four-horned Ram and ”chhantolis” (traditional umbrellas) besides helping the priest perform all rites and rituals connected with the pilgrimage.It is not a very large kund (lake) and is rather shallow, having a depth of only about 2 metres. The edges are snow covered for most parts of the year, but when the snow melts, one can see human and equine skeletal remains, sometimes with flesh attached; well preserved in the alpine conditions. It is found that about 300 people died about 500-600 years ago. and it is the location of about three to six hundred skeletons at the edge of a lake. The location is uninhabited and is located at an altitude of about 5,029 metres. The skeletons were discovered in the 1942 when a park ranger stumbled upon on one of it and find a mass grave of skeletons. At that time it was believed that the people died from an epidemic, landslides or a blizzard. The carbon dating from samples collected at that time in the 1960s vaguely indicated that the people were from the 12th century to the 15th century.In 2004 a team of National geography some Indian and European scientists set off to the location to gain more information on the skeletons. The team uncovered vital clues including jewellery, skulls, bones and a preserved body. DNA tests on the bodies revealed that there were two groups of people, a short group (probably local porters) and a taller group who were closely related. Though the numbers were not ascertained, it is believed that three to six hundred people perished. Radiocarbon dating of the bones also accurately pinpointed the time period to be in the 9th century predating the earlier inaccurate tests. After studying fractures in the skulls, the scientists in Hyderabad and London determined that the people died not of disease but of a sudden hailstorm. The hail sizes were as large as cricket balls and with no shelter in the open Himalayas all of them perished. Furthermore with the rarefied air and icy conditions, many bodies were well preserved. With landslides in the area, some of the bodies made their way into the lake. What is not determined was where the group was headed to. There is no historical evidence of any trade routes to Tibet in the area or any places of pilgrimage.Roopkund is the destination of a religious event in Garhwal called the Nanda Jaat yatra which repeats in 12 years. The latest, at the time of writing, was in the year 2000. A ram with four horns is born and is considered as the vehicle of the Goddess which is taken through villages and finally to Roopkund. Thousands of people participate in this event, and many devotees continue their journey with the ram to Roopkund. According to the folklores, a king took part in this yatra with his entourage which had women dancers and Goddess Nanda was displeased with this. A snowstorm or an avalanche could be the reason for the skeletons in the lake.

How to Reach there

Kathgodam – Ranikhet – Garur – Gwaldam – Debal(1220 mts) – Bagargad(1890 mts)- Mandali village – Lohajung pass – Wan village(2590 mts) – Bedini Bugyal( 3660 mts) – Belpa Sulera(4270 mts) – Kelwa Binayak – Roopkund.

Gwaldam to Roopkund is on trek.
Devotees believe that the Ram moves under spiritual influence. It carries the bangles and clothes for Goddess. It is said that a four-horned Ram gets born every 12 years in Chandpurpatti of Karnprayag sub-division.

Gyandotcom

The Living Legend Shri Amitabh Bachchan

The Living Legend. Shri Amitabh Bachchan

11-10-2008 1:15pm Yesterday was the Birthday of Shri Amitabh Bachchan. I was just changing my TV channels as i come across with the news that Mr. Bachchan was critically ill and admitted to Nanavati hospital due to the same stomachache problem. This was the bad news for all the fans of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Well in November 2005, Amitabh Bachchan was admitted to Lilavati Hospital’s ICU once more, to undergo surgery for diverticulitis of the small intestine. This occurred after Amitabh Bachchan complained of pains in his abdomen some days prior. During the period and that following his recovery, most of his projects were put on hold, including the television show he was in the process of hosting, Kaun Banega Crorepati. Amitabh returned to work in March 2006. I hope and look forward to see him in his best of health and wish he would get well soon.

“Is Sadi ke Mahanayak ke Naam”

Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav born on October 11, 1942 birth place.

), is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s and has since become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema.

Amitabh Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including three National Film Awards and twelve Filmfare Awards. He holds the record for most number of Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards. In addition to acting, Amitabh Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer, and television presenter, and was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987.

Amitabh Bachchan is married to actor Jaya Bhaduri, now Mrs. Jaya Amitabh Bachchan They has two children, Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Amitabh Bachchan , who is also an actor and is married to Aishwarya Rai.(Amitabh & Abhishek)

Mrs. Jaya bachchan,Abhishek & Amitabh Bachchan)

Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, Amitabh Bachchan hails from a Hindu Kayastha family. His father, Dr. Harivansh Rai Amitabh Bachchan was a well-known Hindi poet, while his mother, Teji Bachchan was a Sikh from Karachi (now in Pakistan). Amitabh was initially named Inquilab, inspired from the phrase Inquilab Zindabad, during the Indian independence struggle, but was re-christened Amitabh, which means, “the light that would never go off.” Though his surname was Srivastava, his father had adopted the pen-name Amitabh Bachchan , under which he published all his works. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films, and, for all public purposes, it has become the surname of all members of his current family.

Amitabh is the elder of Harivansh Rai Amitabh Bachchan ’s two sons, the second being Ajitabh. His mother had a keen interest in theatre and had been offered a role in a film, but preferred her domestic duties. She had some degree of influence in Amitabh Bachchan ’s choice of career because she always insisted that he should take the centre stage. Amitabh Bachchan ’s father passed away in 2003 and his mother on December 21, 2007.

Amitabh Bachchan has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree. He attended Allahabad’s Jnana Prabodhini and Boys’ High School (BHS), followed by Nainital’s Sherwood College, where he majored in the art stream. He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi and completed a Bachelor of Science degree. In his twenties, Amitabh Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in Calcutta, to pursue a career in acting.

Shweta & Abhishek

He married actor Jaya Bhaduri on June 3, 1973, according to Bengali rites. The couple has two children: daughter Shweta and son Abhishek.

Amitabh Bachchan in Anand (1970) Amitabh Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani, a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. Though the film was not a financial success, Amitabh Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer.

National Award

Abhishek & Amitabh

The critically acclaimed and commercially successful Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. Amitabh Bachchan roles as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Amitabh then played the role of an infatuated lover in Parwaana (1971) opposite Navin Nischol, Yogeeta Bali and Om Prakash and was a rare instance of him portraying the villain. This was followed by several films which were not particularly successful at the box office including Reshma Aur Shera (1971). During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri opposite Dharmendra. Noted for his deep baritone voice early on in his career, he narrated part of the film Bawarchi. In 1972, he made an appearance in the road action comedy Bombay to Goa, directed by S. Ramanathan. He starred alongside actors such as Aruna Irani, Mehmood, Anwar Ali, and Nasir Hussain.

Rise to Stardom

1973 saw significant development in Amitabh Bachchan career when director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona & dash; the “angry young man” action hero of Bollywood, a reputation he was to acquire in pictures that followed it. It was his first film as the leading protagonist to achieve box office success and earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together, not only in Zanjeer but in films such as Abhimaan which followed and was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Amitabh Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film Namak Haraam, a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Rekha was praised and won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

In 1974, Amitabh Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as Kunwara Baap and Dost, before playing a supporting role in the highest grossing film of that year, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship was a critical and commercial success, placing Amitabh opposite Manoj Kumar himself, Shashi Kapoor, and Zeenat Aman. Amitabh Bachchan then played the leading role in film Majboor, released on December 6, 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag starring George Kennedy. The film was only a moderate success at the box office. In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili. However 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film Deewar, opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4. Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. Released on August 15, 1975 was Sholay (meaning fire), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning Rs. 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of Jaidev opposite a cast, which included some of the top names in the industry including Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri, and Amjad Khan. In 1999, BBC India declared it the “Film of the Millennium” and like Deewar, has been cited as amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.

Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970sAfter the success of films such as Sholay at the box office, Amitabh Bachchan had now consilidated his position in the industry and from 1976 through to 1984 would receive an unprecedented number of Filmfare Best Actor Award Awards and nominations. Although films such as Sholay cemented his status as Bollywood’s pre-eminent action hero, Amitabh Bachchan illustrated that he was flexible in other roles, successfully playing the romantic lead, in films such as Kabhie Kabhie (1976) and comic timing in comedies such as Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and earlier, in Chupke Chupke (1975). In 1976, director Yash Chopra once again cast him in his second film, Kabhi Kabhie, a romantic tale in which Amitabh Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by actor Rakhee Gulzar. The emotional eclectic of the dialogue and softness of the subject matter proved a direct contrast to some of Amitabh’s earlier grittier action pictures and those he would later go on to play. The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award and was a box office success. In 1977, he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. 1978 was possibly the most accoladed year of his career and he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year. He once again resumed double roles in films such as Kasme Vaade as Amit and Shankar and Don playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld gang and his look alike Vijay. His performance won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award and considerable critical acclaim as with his performances in Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikander which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. On account of this unprecedented run and success he encountered at this stage in his career, he was billed a “one-man industry” by the French director Francois Truffaut.

In 1979, for the first time, Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the film Mr. Natwarlal in which he starred alongside Rekha. His performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards. In 1979, he also received Best Actor nomination for Kaala Patthar (1979) and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film Dostana, in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. Dostana proved to be the top grossing film of 1980. In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra’s melodrama film Silsila, where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and rumoured lover Rekha. Other films of this period include Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Lawaaris (1981), and Shakti (1982) which pitted him against legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

1982 injury during filming Coolie

While filming Coolie in 1982, Amitabh Bachchan suffered a nearly fatally intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. Amitabh Bachchan was performing his own stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall onto a table and then on the ground. However as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood. He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating. Nevertheless, he spent many months recovering and resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Amitabh Bachchan’s accident, the film was a box office success. The director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending of Coolie after Amitabh Bachchan ’s accident. Amitabh Bachchan’s character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end. It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen. Also, in the released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking this as the instant of the actor’s injury of the accident.

Later, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics. At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received. Before every release he would negatively state, “Yeh film to flop hogi!” (“This film will flop”).

Politics: 1984-1987

In 1984, Amitabh took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad’s Lok Sabha seat against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by the highest victory margin in general election history (68.2% of the vote). His political career, however, was short-lived: He resigned after three years. The resignation followed the implication of Amitabh Bachchan and his brother in the “Bofors scandal” by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court. Amitabh Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.

His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during a financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. Therefore, Amitabh Bachchan started to support Amar Singh’s political party, the Samajwadi party. Mrs. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became a Rajya Sabha member. Amitabh Bachchan has continued to do favors for the Samajwadi party, including advertisements and political campaigns. These activities have recently gotten him into trouble again in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.

Stardust and some of the other film magazines imposed a 15-year press ban against Amitabh Bachchan during his peak acting years. In his own defense, Amitabh Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets almost till the end of 1989. It has been said that Amitabh Bachchan had banned certain publications because he disliked what was being published about him and as such, he vetoed them in an attempt to get them to conform this.

In 1988, Amitabh Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role in Shahenshah, which was a box office success due to the hype of Amitabh Bachchan’s comeback. After the success of his comeback film however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film, “Hum,” looked like it might reverse this trend, but the momentum was short-lived as his string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite the lack of hits, it was during this period that Amitabh Bachchan won his second National Film Award, for his performance as a Mafia don in the 1990 film “Agneepath.” These years would be the last he would be seen on screen for some time. After the release of Khuda Gawah in 1992, Amitabh Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years. In 1994, one of his delayed films Insaniyat was released but was also a box office failure. Amitabh Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (A.B.C.L.) in 1996, with the vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approx 250 million $US) premier entertainment company by the year 2000. ABCL’s strategy was to introduce products and services covering the entire section of the India’s entertainment industry. Its operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film was produced by the company. “Tere Mere Sapne” failed to do well at the box office but launched the careers of actors such as Arshad Warsi and South films star Simran. ABCL produced a few other films, none of which did well.

In 1997, Amitabh Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film Mrityudaata, produced by ABCL. Though Mrityudaata attempted to reprise Amitabh Bachchan’s earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the The 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, Bangalore but lost millions. The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by Indian Industries board. The Bombay high court, in April 1999, restrained Amitabh Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow ‘Prateeksha’ and two flats until the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Amitabh Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to Sahara India Finance for raising funds for his company.

Amitabh Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham (1999) but other films such as Lal Baadshah (1999) and Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999) were box office failures.

In the year 2000, Amitabh Bachchan stepped up to host India’s adaptation of the British television game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Entitled, Kaun Banega Crorepati. As it did in most other countries where it was adopted, the program found immediate success. The Canara Bank withdrew its law suit against Amitabh Bachchan in November 2000. Amitabh Bachchan hosted KBC until November 2005, and its success set the stage for his return to film popularity.

Amitabh Bachchan returns to the screen opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Mohabbatein (2000). First Lady President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Best Film Actor Award for the year 2005 to Amitabh Bachchan for his role in the Hindi film Black.In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra’s box-office hit, Mohabbatein, directed by Aditya Chopra. He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan. Other hits followed, with Amitabh Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), and Baghban (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in Aks (2001), Aankhen (2002), Khakee (2004), Dev (2004) and Black (2005). Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit film Bunty Aur Babli (2005), the Godfather tribute Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006). All of them were successful at the box office. His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were Baabul (2006), Eklavya and Nishabd (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics. He also made a guest-appearance as himself in the Kannada movie Amruthadaare, directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar. In May 2007, two of his films Cheeni Kum and the multi-starrer Shootout at Lokhandwala were released. Shootout at Lokhandwala did very well at the box office and was declared a hit in India, while Cheeni Kum picked up after a slow start and was declared an overall average hit.

In August 2007, a remake of his biggest hit, Sholay (1975), entitled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, proved to be a disaster at the box office and was also poorly received by critics.

His first English language film, Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear, premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2007. and Released in India in September 2008. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since Black. Amitabh Bachchan was slated play a supporting role in his first international film, Shantaram, directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead. The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer’s strike, was pushed to September 2008.

Bhoothnath, in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on May 9, 2008. Sarkar Raj, released in June 2008, was a sequel to his 2005 film Sarkar. Sarkar Raj received a positive response at the box-office. Amitabh Bachchan was scheduled to co-host the second Live Earth event, Live Earth India 2008, with Jon Bon Jovi, in Mumbai India on December 8, 2008.

In November 2005, Amitabh Bachchan was admitted to Lilavati Hospital’s ICU once more, to undergo surgery for diverticulitis of the small intestine.[33] This occurred after Amitabh Bachchan complained of pains in his abdomen some days prior. During the period and that following his recovery, most of his projects were put on hold, including the television show he was in the process of hosting, Kaun Banega Crorepati. Amitabh returned to work in March 2006. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer and presenter for numerous programmes. Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Amitabh Bachchan’s voice that he decided to use his voice as commentary in Shatranj Ke Khiladi since he could not find a suitable role for him. Before entering the film industry, Amitabh Bachchan applied for an announcer’s job with All India Radio, although he was rejected.

Barabanki Land Case

In the runup to the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007, Amitabh Bachchan made a film extolling the virtues of the Mulayam Singh government. His Samajwadi Party was routed, and Mayawati came to power

On June 2, 2007, a Faizabad court ruled that he had illegally acquired agricultural land designated specifically for landless Dalit farmers. It was speculated that he might investigated on related charges of forgery, as he has allegedly claimed he was a farmer. On July 19, 2007, after the scandal broke out, Amitabh Bachchan surrendered the land acquired in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and Pune. He wrote to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to donate the lands that were allegedly acquired illegally in Pune. However, the Lucknow Court has put a stay on the land donation and said that the status quo on the land be maintained.

On October 12, 2007, Amitabh Bachchan abandoned his claim in respect of the land at Daulatpur village in Barabanki district. On December 11, 2007, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court gave a clean chit to Amitabh Bachchan in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent allotment of government land to him in Barabanki district. A single Lucknow bench of Justice said there was no finding that the actor “himself committed any fraud or manipulated any surreptitious entry in the revenue records.”

After receiving a positive verdict in Barabanki case, Amitabh Bachchan intimated to Maharashtra government that he did not wish to surrender his land in Maval tehsil of Pune district.

The Dirty Politics & criticism by Raj Thackeray’s

In January 2008 at political rallies, Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, targeted Amitabh Bachchan , asserting that the actor was “more inclined” towards his native state than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh’s inaugurating a girls’ school named after his daughter-in-law, actor Aishwarya Rai Amitabh Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra.[43] According to media reports, Raj’s censure of Amitabh, whom he admires, stemmed out of his disappointment of not being invited to Amitabh’s son Abhishek’s marriage to Aishwarya, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.

Responding to Raj’s accusations, the actor’s wife, SP MP Jaya Amitabh Bachchan , said that the Amitabh Bachchan s were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land build it. She told the media, “I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai—Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here.” However, Amitabh abstained from commenting on the issue.

Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, stating, “Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him. The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting.”

On March 23, 2008, more than a month and half after Raj’s remarks, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview to a local tabloid saying, “Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give.” Later, on March 28, at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one’s fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so. He also stated that he was not affected by Raj’s comments. This political issue is now resolved from both the sides.

By Gyandotcom

For all the fans of Shri Amitabh Bachchan.

Jaago re India.but Inhe Sone Do.

Jaago Re, the new campaign, will kick start across the country on October 1, 2007. The new campaign leverages the unique position that tea enjoys in our culture and attempts to migrate tea from being a physical and emotional revitaliser to becoming a catalyst for ‘social awakening’

“AGAR AAP VOTE NAHI KAR RAHE TO AAP SO RAHE HAIN” OR “AGAR AAP VOTE KAR RAHE HAIN AISE MINISTERS KO JO KHUD SO RAHE HAIN” TO AAP RIGHT VOTE KYON NAHI KARTE OR AISE LOGON KO KYON ELECT KARTE HAIN.

HAR SUBAH SIRF UTHO MAT, JAAGO RE DOSTON

AB TO JAAG JAOO SENSEX GIR CHUKA HAI.

click to view the Video of the ministers Nap same below

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Ab to Jaag JaooYeh Soyenge to Desh kaise soyega. Inka Sona zaruuri hai

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Police Walla Taking bribe from Street howker.
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by gyandotcom

GYANDOTCOM Initiative to aware people of India

The Small Young Future Generation of Our Country.

Dear Friends.

Wishing you all a Very happy diwali. as a Responsible citizen Celebrate the festival of joy and lights with atleast 1 street children and make him/her happy and share your joy with underpriveledge kids of our country. Start now i know people will laugh at you so what others will follow you. Give a hug to those who need you in your joys & Sorrows. Lets Celebrate this diwali with some underprivledge kids of our neighbouring streets and make them happy for a day. This Diwali Lets make atleast 1 street children happy. spread the joy of happiness among all. Lets make this Planet a happy Living Earth. Lets share the joy of Giving and make 1 kid smile.with best wishes happy Diwali from Gyandotcom

MyTheory of Dark Matter and Acclerated Universe.

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Our universe extends staggeringly far beyond our own earthly environment. Trying to grasp the size in any meaningful way is bound to make your brain hurt. We can make analogies to at least understand a few of the relevant scales, but this can’t give us a complete picture all in one go. In the end, we must settle for an understanding of large numbers, aided by the tool of scientiﬁc notation. Modern astrophysicists don’t walk around with a deeply developed intuition for the vast scale of the universe—it’s too much for the human brain. But these scientists do walk around with a grasp of the relevant numbers involved. As an example, here are some of the numbers I carry in my head to understand the universe’s size: • A lecture hall is approximately 10 meters across, and light travels across it in about 30 nanoseconds. We will be using light, which travels at 300,000,000 meters per second to quantify distances. • The earth is 6378 km in radius, and light would travel seven times around the earth in one second if it could travel in a circle like this. • The moon is about one-quarter the diameter of the earth, and is 1.25 light-seconds away—corresponding to about 30 earth diameters to scale earth−moon distance • The sun is 109 times the diameter of the earth, and about 8 light-minutes away (this is 1 “Astronomical Unit,” or A.U., and is about 150 million km). • Jupiter is about 40 light-minutes from the sun (5 A.U.). • Pluto is about 40 A.U. from the sun, or about 5.5 light-hours out. • The next star is 4.5 light-years away—take a moment to appreciate this big jump! • The center of the Milky Way (our galaxy) is about 25,000 light-years away. A galaxy is a gravitation-ally bound collection of stars: islands of stars—many of which make up the universe. • Large galaxies like our own are about 100,000 light-years across. • The nearest external large galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy—about 2 million light-years away (20 galaxy diameters). • The nearest large cluster of galaxies (Virgo Cluster) is about 50 million light-years away. • The edge of the visible universe is about 13.7 billion light years away. 1As you can see, the range of scales is too huge to be described all at once by a single measure. We went from small fractions of a light-second (light crosses the lecture hall in 0.00000003 seconds, and can cross the United States of America. in about 0.01 seconds) to huge quantities (billions!) of light-years. In total, going from the lecture hall to the size of the visible Universe takes us through 25 orders-of-magnitude (factors of ten). At best our puny brains are capable of comprehending maybe 8 orders-of-magnitude directly (1 mm grain of sand to 100 km scale visible from mountain-tops). Outside this direct experience, we rely on the numbers to convey the relative scales. What Do We Know About the Beginning? What we see when we look into the universe today is the illusion that all galaxies are hurtling away from our own, as if we were sitting at the center of some momentous explosion. The farther the galaxy, the faster its apparent recession from us. This effect is seen in the wavelengths (colors) of light from distant galaxies. Wavelengths from receeding galaxies are shifted toward the red (“redshifted”) by a precisely measureable amount—analogous to the Doppler shift we hear in the pitch of an ambulance racing past. The farther the galaxy, the greater the redshift, and thus the faster it is moving away. As an aside, this expansion rate is characterized by the Hubble Constant, 70 km/s/Mpc. These strange units mean for every megaparsec (Mpc, or 3.26 million light-years) we go away, galaxies are receding by another 70 kilometers per second. There are two illusory aspects to this astounding observation (ﬁrst recognized in the 1920’s). The ﬁrst is that though we appear to be at the center of the expansion, we are not. Every galaxy would make the same claim. Think about it this way. We look at galaxy A 10 Mpc away, receding at 700 km/s. Straight beyond galaxy A is galaxy B, 20 Mpc away, receding at 1400 km/s (Figure 1). Imagine standing on a planet around a star in galaxy A. In one direction, you can look back and see our galaxy, the Milky Way. On the opposite side of the sky you see galaxy B. Both are 10 Mpc away, and both appear to move away from you at 700km/s. So on galaxy A, it also appears that all galaxies recede from you. Two good analogies help illustrate this concept. For the ﬁrst, imagine galaxies drawn on the surface of a balloon, and the balloon being blown up. As the “fabric” of the balloon stretches, galaxies move farther away. The farther, the faster. To each, it appears to be at the center of the expansion. But there is no center (here we conﬁne our thoughts to the surface of the balloon—unaware of the three-dimensional center of the spherical balloon we can see).The second analogy is that of a baking raisin bread. Now imagine the raisins to be galaxies, and the bread is space itself. Again, each raisin sees all others moving away from it, and the farther the raisin, the faster it appears to move away. But there really is no center (forget that the bread has edges, or that it’s in your oven). The second correction to the statement that “we see galaxies receding with an ever-increasing velocity as we go farther” is subtle. But the correct picture is not that galaxies are whizzing out into a pre-existing, empty space. The right way to look at it is that space itself is being created/expanded between the galaxies. The galaxies are simply along for the ride, being carried in the expanding space. Here, the raisin bread analogy is particularly useful. The raisins (galaxies) are not zooming through the bread (space), but rather the bread (space) itself is expanding. This picture ultimately agrees better with observation, and is consistent with the predictions of general relativity. Space itself is being “created” as the universe expands. It doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to consider that if space is expanding in all directions, it used to be smaller. Galaxies used to be closer. How far do we carry this back? We can make the bold statement that maybe we should carry it to the extreme—to a time when the whole universe was smaller than a grain of sand. This seemingly preposterous extrapolation is, surprisingly, supported by observations. If the universe were once this small, it would also have been so very hot that even protons and neutrons would have been evaporated into quarks. If we play this game—knowing what we do about particle physics from our accelerator experiments—we can predict the relative abundance of the light elements that would have frozen out of this quark soup as the universe expanded and cooled. This simple (in concept) game actually gets the story right! It predicts the abundances of hydrogen, helium, lithium, etc. that we see in the primordial gas clouds that still surround us. Other predictions likewise work with this scenario (cosmic 2From Milky Way (MW) perspective From galaxy A perspective MW A B MW A B 0 700 1400 0 700 −700 Figure 1: The same motions of the Milky Way, and two galaxies labled A and B. The frame on the left shows both galaxies receeding from MW, B traveling faster than A. From the perspective of galaxy A, both B and MW move away at the same speed. microwave background radiation, ages of oldest stars). This model of the beginning of our universe is called the Big Bang model, and has gained nearly universal (forgive the pun!) acceptance among scientists. How Big is the Universe, Really? This simple question has a somewhat complicated answer that may involve new ways of thinking, but we’ll try to get to the bottom of the issue. To start, I note that the universe is largely made up of space. By space I mean vacuum—emptiness—nothing. Though we have galaxies of stars littering our skies, even these have lots of empty space in them. On the whole, if you smeared out all the atoms in the universe uniformly, you would end up with less than one hydrogen atom per cubic meter. That’s sparse! Even in our locally dense galaxy (most of the universe is space between the galaxies), stars are like grains of sand several miles apart! Since the universe is mostly empty space, it is appropriate to talk about the nature and extent of theuniverse in terms of the nature and extent of space itself. Here is where things start to get weird. We allpicture space as being three-dimensional and ﬂat. By ﬂat, we mean Euclidean. By Euclidean, we mean thatall the properties of geometry we learned about in high school apply. These are statements like: parallellines remain parallel forever; the angles in a triangle add to 180◦; space is inﬁnite in extent. Such statements appear to be valid in our daily experience.This picture of ﬂat space formed the backdrop of physics throughout the Newtonian era. Einstein changed this when he suggested two radical ideas: 1. Time must be included in our description of space into a uniﬁed concept of space time. Time and space mean different things for observers moving with respect to each other, becoming inextricably mixed.This is the subject of special relativity. 2. Space-time may be curved—there is no requirement for ﬂatness. What’s more, the presence of mass curves spacetime. This is the subject of general relativity. Is nothing sacred? Apparently not. These concepts truly re-shaped the way physicists think about space. Not surprisingly, the description of the nature of the universe (the size and shape of space) is profoundly impacted by this paradigm. In addition to local spacetime curvature due to masses (stars, galaxies) within the universe, there may be a global curvature that apples to the whole of the universe. It is next-to-impossible to imagine in your head what it would mean for all of three-dimensional space (actually, 4-dimensional spacetime) to be curved. B A C Figure 2: Ant experiments on a sphere: A) the straightest line possible—a great circle—comes back on itself; B) Initially parallel tracks eventually converge; C) A straight line triangle on a sphere has angles that add to more than 180◦, in this case 270◦. Curved into what? But we have some lower-dimensional analogies to help us appreciate what this might look like. 3.1 A Two-dimensional Analog Imagine you are an ant living on a basketball. You can only move around on the surface, so that you essentially live in a two-dimensional space. Another way to say this is simply that the basketball surface (texture notwithstanding) is a two-dimensional surface existing in our three-dimensional space. This third dimension allows us to see what the ant cannot. If the ant makes a smelly deposit on the surface and runs away in horror, it will ultimately come back on the surprise, though never deviating from a straight line. We call this straight line a great circle (see Figure 2A), because to our three-dimensional eyes, we can see that the path of the ant through three-dimensional space is a circle (like an equator). To the ant, the line was straight as could be. No matter what direction the ant chose to run in, the result would be the same as long as the ant kept to a straight line. So this space is ﬁnite: it does not go on forever. The next experiment the ant attempts is to walk parallel to another ant. They both start out side-by-side on the basketball’s “equator,” and agree to walk “north.” Once they decide this, they start out walkingparallel in the north direction, but agree not to look at each other—just their compasses. Some time later, they bump into each other. Each suspects the other of deviating, while knowing that they themselves did not. In fact, neither deviated from a straight line (Figure 2B). But Euclid’s relationships don’t hold on this curved space. Parallel straight lines will always converge on a sphere. In this case, the convergence would be at the “north pole.” (Take a look at how the lines of longitude converge at the north pole of a globe, despite starting out parallel at the equator and each representing perfectly “straight” great-circle paths.) The last experiment the frustrated ant tries is to verify that the three angles inside a triangle add to 180◦. The ant starts at the north pole, walks in a straight line south to the equator, turns right (90◦) to follow the equator, walks a quarter of the way around the equator, then turns right again (90◦) to head back to the north pole. On reaching the north pole, the ant ﬁnds that the angle that its current path makes to the original path from the pole is 90◦, so that the three interior angles of this “straight-line” triangle add to 270◦—much bigger than the expected result (Figure 2C). The lesson is that the rules of Euclidean geometry don’t hold on curved spaces. The analogy to our universe is as follows. If our universe has so-called positive curvature, then any straight line ultimately comes back on itself, parallel lines ultimately converge, and angles within a triangle add to something greater than 180◦. Now it should be pointed out that had the ant on the basketball performed the triangle (or parallel line) experiment over a very small and conﬁned region of the basketball, Euclidean geometry would have appeared to work to a high degree of precision. By analogy, the earth looks pretty ﬂat over small distances. We know that the universe is very large—because we see new and different stuff in every direction for a long way. So in our tiny local region, things look pretty ﬂat. But is the large-scale universe curved? This 4Figure 3: Possible geometries of the universe, in two-dimensional analog. has been an open question in cosmology, and we’re ﬁnally gaining some resolution. 3.2 Types of Curved Universes To motivate more concretely the notion that the universe is curved, I mentioned above that Einstein’s theory of general relativity produces spacetime curvature—in fact, it produces positive curvature—like that of a closed sphere. So the question of “how much curvature” boils down to “how much matter is there in the universe?” We know that the universe is expanding, based on galaxy redshifts. Since matter is gravitationally attracted to itself, the presence of matter in the universe may be sufﬁcient to slow—even halt and reverse—this expansion. In other words, the presence of mass applies brakes to the expansion. But is there enough matter present to halt the expansion? Enough to reverse it? In a universe that contains only gravitating matter and empty space, the question of the fate of the universe and the type of curvature are intimately related. A universe with more than enough matter in it to halt the expansion has enough matter to make it positively curved on the whole. This type of universe would wrap back onto itself. Like the ant traveling in a straight line and coming back to the same spot, so we would come back to earth if we ﬂew a straight line in a rocket for a very, very long time. Other properties of positive curvature would also be present: parallel lines would eventually converge, and triangle angles would add to greater than 180◦ (the larger the triangle, the greater the deviation—like on the surface of the basketball). Besides these geometrical properties, this “closed” universe would ultimately turn back on itself and experience a Big Crunch when it all came back together. Figure 3 shows the possible geometries, with the closed geometry on top. On the other extreme, if the amount of matter in the universe is insufﬁcient to halt the expansion, the resulting geometry has a net negative curvature. This is harder to visualize, but the properties are that it goes on indeﬁnitely (you would not wrap back on yourself if traveling in this space), parallel lines now diverge, and triangle angles add to less than 180◦. The best visualization I can offer here is that of a Pringle’s potato chip: saddle-shaped. This kind of surface has all the right geometrical properties, if for instance an ant were to do similar experiments to what it did on the sphere. The only catch is that you have to imagine a Pringle of inﬁnite extent (yum). The negatively curved universe is said to be “open,” as it is inﬁnite in extent, and will never re-collapse. It will continue to expand forever. The existence of matter may slow down (decelerate) this expansion, but it will never be enough to stop it. Precariously balanced between these two extremes is a ﬂat universe. A ﬂat universe has just the right amount of matter to exactly balance the expansion, so that ultimately the universe’s expansion will exactly stop (as time marches toward inﬁnity). In this case, there is no net curvature, and Euclidean geometry holds across the inﬁnite extent of the universe. Though seemingly impossibly tuned to have just the right amount 5of matter (not a teaspoon more or less), this has been a favorite of theoretical cosmologists because they think this condition would have been automatically satisﬁed the way the universe started. If the universe is close to being ﬂat, but not precisely so, then it has some net curvature, but this curvature may be hardly noticeable. This is analogous to saying that the effects of earth’s curved surface are not very noticeable over small scales (like on a soccer ﬁeld), while the soccer ball is very noticeably curved. In otherwords, a universe that is positively curved, but very large, will appear pretty ﬂat on the small part we can see. It is very difﬁcult to unambiguously tell the difference between these scenarios through our observations of the universe—though we have been surprisingly successful at setting limits on this curvature using the CMB. Geometry Summarized If the universe is composed only of gravitating matter and the empty space in between, then the geometry of space—positive curvature, ﬂat, or negative curvature—is intimately connected with the amount of matter in the universe. This is also then connected with its fate. A nice verbal relationship exists to sum this up: a positive-curvature universe is said to be closed (ﬁnite) and is both ﬁnite in spatial extent (wraps back onto itself) and in the time domain (will ultimately re-collapse). A negatively curved universe is said to be open, and extends inﬁnitely in both time and space. The ﬂat case is a special, limiting case of the open scenario—it too is inﬁnite in extent and will go on forever in time, but only just so. The Universe As We See It In an effort to determine the matter density of the universe, and thus its ultimate fate and geometry, as-tronomers for many years pursued a measurement of the deceleration of the matter in the universe. The logic was that if any matter existed at all (and clearly it does), the net gravitational effect between all bodies in the universe would apply the brakes to the expansion, slowing down its rate. The effect is relatively small, and it took a very long time to be able to make any measurement. Finally, in the late 1990’s, two independent teams of physicists and astronomers had managed to make a measurement using the light from a special type of supernova (exploding star) thought to act as a “standard candle”—having the same intrinsic brightness no matter when and where in the universe it happened. The result they found was startling. The data thatstared them in the face proclaimed that the universe is actually accelerating presently! It’s as if the balloon is being blown up more rapidly today than yesterday. Nobody (well, practically nobody) had anticipated this possibility. But this provides an example of the triumph of measurement over theory. You can’t argue with measurement. (Well, you can, actually, and should. You should make sure the measurement is valid and that you aren’t being fooled by other effects that you have not yet considered. And believe me, this surprising data has been challenged extensively.) In a moment of severe whiplash in the astro physical community, we suddenly had a huge mystery on our hands. If the universe is accelerating, what’s pushing it apart? Why isn’t gravity working like we thought it should? These sorts of challenges crop up in science from time-to-time, forcing its practitioners to take a hard look at their fundamental assumptions. This is a very healthy process, and it gives me great hope in humanity that we, as humans, do not cling maniacally to a dearly held belief when new evidence points to the contrary. Lest you think that these revolutions “undo” any of the previous measurements and experience from the past, let me assure you that the entire body of measurement and observation stands. The revolution is on the side of theory, whose job it is to explain the collection of empirical data in a self-consistent way. These revolutions typically make it clear that we simply didn’t have the full theoretical picture, or that we can’t get away with an over-simpliﬁed view. Around the same time as the discovery of the universe’s acceleration, astrophysicists looking at the afterglow of the Big Bang (called the cosmic microwave background: CMB, or also the surface of last scattering) were intent on measuring the shape of our space. They could do this because they could predict in great detail what kinds of structures existed at this stage in the universe’s development, when it was 6only 380,000 years old. By structures I just mean temperature variations (departures from uniformity)—or “structure” in the density/temperature of the early plasma. They knew, in effect, how large the largest structures could have become in that time—in real units like meters! Given this, and also armed with the knowledge of how far the surface of last scattering is, the apparent angular size of these blobs on the sky then tells us what kind of geometry we live in. Are we drawing this long, skinny triangle on a positively-curved space, like a basketball, on a negative potato-chip, or in plain Euclidean ﬂat space. The answer—much to the delight of many theorists—came out to be that space is ﬂat. If we quantify this in terms of the amount of matter required to make for a ﬂat universe, the answer came out to indicate the critical density within 2%. In other words, if the universe had too much stuff, it would have positive curvature. Too little stuff and it would have negative curvature. We appear to be in the “just right” scenario, to pretty high precision. A third leg of evidence supported both by measuring masses of huge clusters of galaxies, and also from secondary “structure” in the CMB indicates that the universe only has 30% of the gravitating matter necessary to ﬂatten the universe. How could this be consistent with the previous CMB ﬁnding that we were within 2% of the magic value? The answer is in the subtle use of the word “gravitating” above. It turns out that 70% of the total mass-energy (i.e., stuff) in the universe is of a non-gravitating form. We call this “dark energy” because we can’t see it, it’s not matter, and we frankly have no idea what the stuff is. But it’s the stuff that is responsible for the acceleration of the universe—it’s pushing us apart. Thanks to astrophysical measurements, we now know exactly how much dark energy, dark matter, and ordinary matter exist in the universe. But we still don’t know what any of the “dark” stuff actually is. Ideas abound, but no one pays close attention to ideas unless they suggest additional tests or measurements that can support or refute them. What Does It All Mean? This is mind-blowing stuff, to be sure. We’re talking about the geometry of space, and suddenly we ﬁnd out that it is indeed ﬂat, but that there are constituents in the universe that we know very little about. It’s confusing, and may sound even absurd (more like fantasy or science ﬁction than science). But scientists are serious about this. It’s hard to drag along a skeptical bunch like scientists on a wild ride like this without an awful lot of experimental evidence. Many scientists are still uncomfortable with this surprising new landscape. But almost all acknowledge that we’re faced with striking measurements that will likely radically change our fundamental understanding of what makes up the universe. To talk concretely about the meaning of these observations, let me answer some common questions that always come up in mind: Is the universe inﬁnite in extent? If the geometry of the universe is indeed ﬂat, as we measure it to be, then yes: the universe goes on forever. This doesn’t mean that we can see the whole universe, though. We can only see about 13.7 billion light years away in any direction. So the universe is ﬁnite if we can only see so far, right? These are unrelated things. Because light travels at a ﬁnite speed (albeit fast), when we look far away, we look back in time. When we look 13.7 billion light years away, we see the universe as it existed near the time of its birth. There are no stars or galaxies there yet. A being sitting at that point in the present day would ﬁnd themselves in a setting that looks much like the one around earth today. If they looked back toward earth, they would see our local environment as it was 13.7 billion years ago—long before the sun or even our galaxy formed. We would be the limit of their vision: the edge of their visible universe; their CMB. You could play this game forever: at each horizon edge, the universe looks normal, and there is a new horizon in all directions. Imagine the universe as a huge ocean. In the ocean, you can only see so far due to the cloudy water (maybe several tens of meters). It doesn’t mean that stuff doesn’t exist outside of the visible horizon. If we can look 13.7 billion light years away, shouldn’t we see the Big Bang? Yes! And in fact, we do! Only light isn’t free to travel through empty space until all the electrons are moved out of the way. So as the hot plasma emerging from the Big Bang cooled, ultimately things settled out enough so that electrons could pair up with Hydrogen and Helium nuclei, so that the plasma became neutral. Now light could stream freely across the universe. This is what we see in the CMB: it is the plasma afterglow of the Big Bang, seen about 380,000 years after the universe started—just cool enough to have become neutral. We see it in every direction 13.7 billion light years away as an almost perfectly uniform microwave glow. Truly its amazing, really. If we know the universe is ﬂat to 2% precision, is there room for error? Absolutely. All we are prepared to say for now is that over 13.7 billion light year scales, the universe looks pretty ﬂat: it doesn’t deviate by more than 2% from being ﬂat. But, the possibility exists that the universe is still curved on much larger scales. It’s just like the fact that the earth looks ﬂat locally, over small scales, but is curved on the whole. The universe could be closed into a sphere, but on a much larger scale than what we can see. A 2% limit translates to a factor of 50 (it takes 50 2%’s to make 100%), so we could say that if the universe is ﬁnite, it must be at least 50 times bigger than our 13.7 billion light year horizon. Now Finally! What is the ultimate fate of the universe? Ten years ago, the answer would have simply been that it depends on how much matter is in the universe. If the universe had critical density, it would expand forever, but eventually come to a stop inﬁnitely far out into the future. But it was already looking like there was too little matter to do this, so the universe would expand forever. Now things are more complicated. Even though we think the universe is ﬂat, it has too little gravitating matter to halt the expansion, and moreover, seems to have a dark energy that is accelerating this expansion. Under this scenario, the universe will in essence blow itself apart. But it takes a long time (tens of billions of years), so don’t pack your bags yet. Things seem uncertain now . Is the fate of the universe also uncertain? For sure it is. Until we understand what this dark energy is, we won’t be able to predict with any certainty how it will evolve as the universe ages. If things don’t change, the above scenario will hold. It’s our best guess in the absence of a complete understanding. But as a consequence of the recent series of fantastic measurements, we can say more now than ever before about what we think will happen. What does this mean for humanity? Why should I care? Great!? You may not care. You may not ﬁnd this to be relevant to your life. That’s one of the great things about our lives: we get to choose what we are interested in, and pursue it. But in general, humans have always been curious about origins. Though not every human will be interested in dinosaurs, as a whole we are certainly intrigued, and have learned much from studying them. Science is the process of looking to our surroundings to see what we can learn about how we got here. Recent astrophysical observations are painting a rich story that we simply can’t ignore. Nor do we want to. How it will affect humanity in the very long term is an open question. Does it change the way you live your life or treat others if you know that the universe is a transient thing?—that it will one day expand itself to oblivion? Does it change the frequency of religious wars on this planet if in 500 years we all share a common creation story? At this point, this is more complicated than predicting the fate of the universe. Humans are frighteningly complex! Life in the Universe I am no expert on life in the universe. There is a new and growing ﬁeld of science called astrobiology that delves into the requirements for life, and explores the extremities in which life on the earth has been able to thrive. This direction of exploration may then deﬁne for us how likely it is that life—however simple—could exist on other planets, in comets, etc. But we can at least explore an aspect of the question of additional life in the universe based on what we know about the universe. Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? Let’s play the numbers game. Our galaxy is composed of roughly 100 billion stars. How many of these stars have planets? We’re ﬁnding that quite a few do! We already know of over 100 stars aside from our sun that have at least one planet. the numbers are: 146 planetary systems; 170 planets; 18 multiple-planet systems (as many as 4 in some systems). At present, we can only detect large Jupiter-like planets in orbits that are relatively close to their stars: these produce the strongest tugs on the parent stars, which is what we measure. But it appears that a substantial fraction of stars—at least 5%—have planets. As our detection techniques improve, we may ﬁnd many smaller planets and ﬁnd that indeed most stars have planets. Right now, we would not be able to detect our own set of planets around another star using current techniques. Yet we know we are here. This means solar systems much like our own are still beyond our detection limits. Putting the number of stars in our galaxy together with an estimate that 10% of stars have earth-sized planets (just a guess), we get that 10 billion stars in our galaxy alone harbor earth-like planets. By earth-like, I just mean rocky planets with masses comparable to earth’s mass. Not all of these earth-like planets will be in the “habitable zone” where we see life in our solar system. Example: Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, though both are “earth-like” by the deﬁnition above. Let’s say only 1% of these earth-like planets happen to be in the “Goldilocks” just-right zone. Now we have as many as 100 million habitable planets in our galaxy. We don’t know yet how rare life is. With only one planet to guide us, the estimates cover a huge range. But let’s say for the sake of argument that the chances for life to form are a remote one-in-a-million given a habitable planet. Some would argue that it’s closer to near certainty that life (we’re talking single-cell organisms here) forms. But with the pessimistic long-shot odds of one in a million, that still gives 100 instances in our galaxy. Now hold onto your seats. There are approximately 100 billion galaxies within our 13.7-billion-light-year horizon. So now we have 10 trillion instances of life in our universe given the harsh one-in-a-million odds. Hard to imagine this not panning out. But wait, there’s more. Our visible universe is but a small portion of the entire universe, We know the universe is at least 50 times the size of the visible universe within our horizon.But this is in linear size—radius, or diameter. In volume, the universe is then at least 503 = 125, 000 times larger in volume than our visible volume. Assuming physics looks the same outside our horizon, there are now about a quintillion, or 1018 instances of life in the entire universe, as a lower limit! Our estimates could be off here and there; they are very rough. But it is hard to reduce a number this big to zero (or one, since we’re here, at least) by revising estimates of probabilities. The sheer size of our universe and the resulting number of stars and planets is so absolutely staggering so as to overcome the long odds for developing life. One other aspect we haven’t reﬂected on is the enormity of time over which life has to develop. We can’t really easily grasp time periods longer than maybe 1,000 years. Yet it takes 1,000 of these periods to constitute one million years, which is still short on geological timescales. It would take 1,000 of these one-million-year periods to make one billion years. The universe is 13.7 billion years old, and we ﬁnd fossil evidence of simple life on the 4.5-billion-year-old earth as far back as about 3.5 billion years. Interestingly, the earth was not very hospitable when it was young. It may have taken only (only!!) a few hundred million years for life to form once the earth was a calm and hospitable neighborhood. Even this geologically short period is sooooo long that it is truly impossible for our brains to take it in—much like how we started in comprehending the vast size of the universe. Intelligent life is another beast altogether. It’s a long road from simple organisms to pigs and things. But nature provides a self-ratcheting mechanism to constantly push the developmental arms race toward greater 9complexity. I’m talking here about natural selection. But by now I have strayed far from physics, and should leave this topic for your continued ponderings. DARK MATTER By Rohit Sharma INTRODUCTION The search for the origin of the universe has taken us deeper and deeper into the heart of the micro element world. Gazing into the heavens makes it hard to believe, that the universe we perceive as so unbelievably clear and transparent, is in reality very dense. That is to say the distance between particles in space are equal distance of particles in matter of what we perceive as a solid on Earth. Modern theories accept that our universe is comprised of macro and micro mass. Many scientists assume that all this matter came from a BIG BANG, Logic may posit the birth of the universe not a vast array of thermal grandeur but rather a meager whimper a sequence of consequence. Many scientists now believe the universe is a closed system and that DARK MATTER is filling this universe. In astrophysics, dark matter refers to undetectable matter or particles whose presence explains unexpected gravitational effects on galaxies and stars. Various assumptions were made on the composition of dark matter: Molecular gas, Dead stars, Brown dwarf stars, Black holes, etc However, the observations (or rather lack of direct observations) would imply a non-baryonic nature (proton, neutro), and thus still unknown nature. According to galaxies formation and evolution models as well as cosmological models, dark matter would represent approximately 30% of the total mass of the Universe. Starting from the number of stars’ and galaxies’ revolutions (on the cluster level), it is possible to measure the mass of the dark matter, and to deduce its distribution. A great quantity of this matter should be within the galaxies, not in the galactic disc but in the form of a halo including the galaxy. Indeed, this configuration allows a stability of the galactic disc. Moreover, certain galaxies have rings perpendicular to the disc and composed of gas, dust and stars. There, the halo of matter would explain the formation and stability required. On the other hand, it is impossible that the dark matter be in the galactic disc, due to the fact that we should then observe an oscillation perpendicular to the disc in the stars movement (which is not the case). The study of satellite galaxies (small galaxies turning around other galaxies) obliges to think of very wide halos: approximately 200 or 300 kpc. By comparison, the Sun is located at approximately 8, 6 kpc center of our galaxy. The galaxy of Andromeda – galaxy nearest to us – is located at 725 kpc, that is to say a little more of the double of the halo radius of our galaxy. These halos could be common between close galaxies. Dark matter composition research – Ordinary matter Scientists turned initially to ordinary matter (baryon) for their research and reviewed all the types of particles which could contribute to this gravitational field, such as gas clouds, dead stars or black holes. What are Gas clouds? In the 1990’s, precise cartographies of the universe x-rays emission sources – gathered thanks to the Rose Satellite – highlighted the presence of gigantic ionized gas clouds within galaxy clusters; clouds of several million degrees non-emitting in the visible field. Moreover, these clouds seemed to contain ten times more matter (at least, luminous matter) than the galaxies of these clusters. Was this finally the missing matter? Unfortunately not. On the contrary, these clouds are the proof of the presence of dark matter around the galaxies. Indeed, to reach such temperatures, the particles constituting the cloud must be accelerated at very high speeds (approximately 300 km/s), and this acceleration comes from the force of gravitation. However the quantity of gas is insufficient to generate such a gravity field. Similarly, the stars alone cannot prevent the gas cloud from escaping. The gravitational influence of the dark matter is then necessary to explain the containment of these clouds near the galaxies. Moreover, the shapes of these clouds are helping the astronomers and astrophysicist in their research to determine the dark matter’s distribution in the neighbourhood. Black Holes? Much more massive than MACHO or stars, black holes could have been good candidates. Some of them reach a mass of 10.000 solar masses (in particular super massifs black holes, in galaxy’s centers). However, it would be necessary to have nearly a million of such black holes in a galaxy to fill the lack of matter; a too large number knowing the effect of black holes on neighboring stars. Indeed, black holes sometime cross the galactic disc and disturb the movement of stars. With such a number of black holes, the movements of these stars would be strongly amplified, which would make the galactic disk thicker than what is currently observed. Remain the stellar black holes (a few solar masses), not easily detectable, and the black holes of a few tens or hundreds of solar masses, whose nature of formation has not been explained yet. In all cases, the track of black holes as being the famous dark matter was abandoned, and the astronomers are leaning on the no baryonic matter type. Dark matter composition research – No baryon matter The Big-bang model makes it possible to calculate the number of baryons in the Universe, i.e. the number of helium 4 and hydrogen atoms, formed at the time of the primary nucleosynthesis. The astronomers calculated that baryon matter amount for approximately 4% of the critical density. However, to explain the flat geometry of the Universe, the Universe’s total matter must be of 30% of the critical density (the remaining 70% being dark energy). 26% of the critical density is then missing. Those 26% would be constituted of other particles those baryons. First observational evidence of dark matter In 1933, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky of Caltech decided to study a small group of seven galaxies in the Coma Cluster. Its objective was to calculate the total mass of this cluster by studying the speed (or rather the dispersion speeds) of these seven galaxies. By using Newton laws, he calculated its mass ‘dynamic mass’, then compared it with the ‘luminous mass’, which is the mass calculated from the quantity of light emitted by the cluster (by making to the assumption of a reasonable distribution of the star population in the galaxies). The dispersion speeds (or in other words, how the speed of these 7 galaxies differed from each other) is directly related to the cluster’s mass. In fact, a star cluster can be compared with a gas, where the particles would be galaxies. If the gas is hot and light, the dispersion speed of the particles is high. In the extreme case, the particles which have a sufficient speed leave the gas (evaporation). If the gas is cold and heavy, the dispersion speed is weak. Zwicky was surprised to note that the speeds observed in the Coma Cluster were very high. The dynamic mass was 400 times larger than the luminous mass! At the time, the methods and the precision of measurements were not accurate enough to be neglected. Moreover, massive objects such as brown dwarf, white dwarf, neutron stars , black holes and in general of poorly non radiating objects were little known. And same for interstellar dust and molecular gas. Zwicky announced its observation to its fellows, but they were not interested. Zwicky’s reputation was not so good due to a strong character and its measurements were criticized due to measurement uncertainties. The same phenomenon was again observed in 1936 by Sinclair Smith during the calculation of the Virgo Cluster’s total dynamic mass. This one was 200 times more important than Edwin Hubble’s estimate. According to Smith, is could be explained by the presence of matter between the galaxies of the cluster. Moreover, the galaxy clusters were still considered by a great number of astronomers as of temporary structures rather than of stable structures. This explanation was enough to justify excessive speeds. At the time, astronomers had other ‘more imporant’questions to solve (such as the expansion of the Universe) and the question of this difference between the dynamic and luminous mass was let aside for several decades. Dark matter between galaxies? The movements of galaxies within the clusters showed similar problems than with the rotation of stars in galaxies. This suggests the presence of dark matter between the galaxies; although nothing proves yet that these two problems are related. On a galaxy scale, the dark matter rate would be up to 10 times that of the luminous matter, but on the clusters’ level, it would be much more important: up to 30 times the “visible” mass of these clusters. In 1996, astrophysicist Yannick Mellier and his team decided to measure the quantity of dark matter in all the Universe and to draw up a chart of its distribution between the galaxy clusters. The method used was to make a large scale statistical study of the galaxy deformation due to gravitational interaction of dark matter existing between the Earth and these clusters. This gravitational intercation is visible as it deviates the luminous rays sent by the galaxies (their image arrives deformed). A statistical study on a very large scale (the area of the sky studied was the apparent size of the moon and on a depth of 5 billion light-years) made it possible to neglect the local deformations due to other galaxy clusters. This study led in March 2000 to the a cartography. The dark matter takes the shape of long intersecting filaments. The quantity of matter of the universe should represent one third of that needed to reach the critical density, the remainder made up of dark energy. A new similar study is in hand, always by the team of Yannick Mellier, with this time a larger CCD camera, allowing the study of 20 times the previous field of view. Dark matter composition research – The neutrino The neutrino is a particle introduced for the first time in 1930 by Wolfgang Pauli, before the discovery of the neutron (one year later), and which was detected in 1956 by Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan. This particle – insensitive to electromagnetic forces and strong nuclear force – is emitted during a beta desintregration, along with an electron. The neutrino doesn’t interacts much with other particles, which makes it a good candidate for dark matter. The mass of the neutrino was considered very small, even null. With the problem of the missing mass of the Universe, the physicists wondered if the neutrino would have a nonzero mass. Especially as the neutrino is the most abundant particle in the universe, after the photon. However, the experiments Super-Kamiokande and SNO (Sudbury Observatory Neutrino) revealed a too small mass to consider that this particle would constitute the dark matter. The neutrinos could represent, at best, 18% of the niverse’s total mass. Dark matter composition research – WIMP The WIMP (Weakly interactive massive particles) form a class of heavy particles, interacting slightly with matter, and constitute excellent candidates with the nonbaryonic dark matter. The neutralino postulated by the supersymetric extensions of the standard model of particle physics. The idea of supersymmetry is to associate each boson to a fermion and vice versa. Each particle is then given a super-partner, having identical properties (mass, load), but with a spin which differes by 1/2. Thus, the number of particles is doubled. For example, the photon is accompanied by a photino, the graviton by a gravitino, the electron of a selectron, etc. Following the impossibility to detect a 511 keV boson (the electron partner), the physicists had to re-examine the idea of an exact symmetry. Symmetry is ‘broken’ and superpartners have a very important mass. One of these superparticules called LSP (Lightest Supersymmetric Particle) is the lightest of all. In most of the supersymmetric theories (without violation of the R-parity) the LSP is a stable particle because it cannot disintegrate in a lighter element. It is of neutral color and electric charge and is then only sensitive to weak interaction (weak nuclear force). It is then an excellent candidate for the not-baryonic dark matter. First observational evidence of dark matter It is only 40 years later, in 1970, that the question of the existence of this dark matter reappeared. Starting from the analysis of the spectra of galaxies, the American astronomer Vera Rubin studied the rotation of spiral galaxies. The problem was the same as the comparison between the dynamic and the luminous mass of the galaxy clusters. It was a question of knowing if “luminous mass”, i.e. the mass which is calculated from the presence of stars, is relatively equal (except for some corrections) to the dynamic mass. It should be noted that the dynamic mass is normally the only true mass, as it is a measurement of the mass deduced from its gravitational influence. Any mass being subjected to gravitation, there is no reason to think that the dynamic mass observed is false. It is not as simple for the luminous mass. To measure the latter, the a