CHAPTER 7: THE ADVENTURE
Written by: Jayant Narlikar
Summary
Glossary
Textbook Questions and answers
Professor Gaitonde is a historian.
He is going to give a lecture on the implication of the Catastrophe Theory in the Third Battle of Panipat.
On the way, his car collides with a truck and he goes into a coma.
While in coma he experiences a different world where history is different from what we know in the real world.
In the Third Battle of Panipat, in reality, the Afghans defeated the Marathas. Vishwasrao had died.
He was the leader of the Marathas. But in the parallel world, Marathas win the war as Vishwasrao escapes death narrowly.
The Marathas bring about diverse changes andreforms in the country. When Prof. Gaitonde gains his consciousness, his friend 'Rajendra Deshpande rationalizes his strange experience on the basis of two scientific theories, viz. The Catastrophy Theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum Theory.
The Parallel World Professor Gaitonde is on his way to Bombay from Pune.
It is a pre-independent Bombay. He finds Anglo-Indians and the Union Jack. He goes to the library.
There he finds five volumes of History written by him.
The battle of Panipat is described in the fifth volume.
This is the third battle of Panipat fought between Abdali and the Marathas.
The Afghans are defeated. Then on India moved towards democracy.
Here the book wherein he finds the evidence of Vishwasrao's escape from the bullet by a very short margin.
He puts that evidence in his pocket and reaches Azad Maidan where a lecture is going on.
The absence of chairman makes it strange. He tries to occupy that chair.
The crowd does not let the professor to occupy that chair.
They throw him out. He is lost in the crowd.
The professor's experience comes to an end. He tells all this to his friend Rajendra Deshpande.
Rajendra connects this experience of the professor with two scientific theories namely the Catastrophy Theory and the lack of determinism in the Quantum Theory.
In reality the Marathas had lost the battle.
They had lost both their leaders. But in the parallel world the bullet had missed Vishwasrao and the battle was won by the Marathas.
The evidence was in the pocket of Prof. Gaitonde. The reality is that these werethe notes prepared by him for the delivery of the lecture.
This was just his imagination. The hitting of the bullet is the Catastrophic incident.
It is because of the Quantum Theory that a transition is brought about in the theory where Vishwasrao escapes death as the bullet does not find its target.
Here the Professor is in a different world. At the time of collision with truck he was thinking of catastrophic theory.
When the neurons move, there is no specific direction.
Perhaps the neurons in his brain acted as a trigger but the bullet missed its target and Vishwasrao escaped death and thus the battle was won by the Marathas.
The Professor being a physicist applies his knowledge to the real situation and tries to prove the possibility of the battle resulting in favour of the Marathas.
But we cannot do away with the reality that Vishwasrao had been killed in the battle.
The crowd in the maidan turns itself into a mob simply proves that introductory and concluding speeches are not appreciated in modern times
wind up: bring to a finish or end
make way to-to make progress, to move ahead
come together for a common converge purpose
come together for a common converge purpose
from the sidelines - by not getting involved or taking interest
relegated to - assigned something to
meet one's match-to encounter one's equal or superior in ability
de facto - actually, in fact, really
relied on - depended on
doctored accounts-complex/intricate descriptions
subjected to - prone to, liable to
stirred to depths - excited into doing something deeply
give vent to-express an emotion
at hostile-in an unfriendly way
press home one's advantage-make good use of the fact that you are in a stronger position than your opponent
be all ears - be fully attentive in listening (to someone)
face to face - opposite one another
for the sake of- for the purpose
(1) "You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world."
Ans.
This statement was said by Rajendra to Professor Gaitonde. He made a transition from one world to another and back again.
By making a transition, he was able to experience two worlds although one at a time.
He neither travelled tothe past nor to the future.
He was in the present but experiencing a different world
(2) "You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic experience”
Ans.
This statement was made by Rajendra to Prof. Gaitonde in the text "The Adventure' by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. Gangadhar had passed through a strange experience.
He had the experience of living in two world, one he lived in now and other where he had spent two day
(3) Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him
Ans.
Gangadharpant knew India which had seen the decline of Peshwas and experienced the slavery of the British.
But the India he had seen in two days was completely different. It had not been subjected to slavery for the whiteman.
It was self-dependent and enjoyed self-respect.
He compared the two countries the one that he knew already and other that he was witnessing around him. Both had different histories.
(4) "The lack of determinism in quantum theory !"
Ans.
Professor Gaitonde had decided to go to a big library at Bombay and browse through history books.
Then he would find out how the present state of affairs was reached. On his return to Pune, he would have a long talk with Rajendra Deshpande.
He hoped that Rajendra would help him understand what had happened.
(5) "You need some interaction to cause a transition."
Ans.
This Bombay was under the British Raj An Anglo-Indian in uniform checked permits.
Each of the blue carriages of GBMR had the tiny Union jack painted on it.
The Victoria Terminus station looked very neat and clean.
The staff was mostly of Anglo-Indians and Parsee alongwith a handful of British officers.
Ans. Vishwasrao and his brother. Madhavrao a combined political acumen with valour.
They systematically expanded their influence all over India.
The East India Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay. Calcutta and Madras.
Ans.
Prof. Gaitonde saw that the lecture at the pandal was in progress.
But the chair for President on the stage was empty.
He directly went to the stage and occupied the chair.
The audience started shouting to him to vacate the chair'.
Ans.
Gangadharpant had the experience of speaking at 999 meetings, but he found the one at Pune where the audience was at its most hostile.
The audience showered tomatoes, eggs and other objects on him.
Still he kept on trying bravely to correct his sacrilege.
Finally the audience rushed to the stage to eject him boldly and thenafter he was nowhere to be seen.
Ans.
To support the statement Reality may not be unique', the following example of the functioning of atoms and their constituent particles is given.
If an electron is fired from a source, it will never go in the expected direction and reach the set target as it happens in the case of a bullet shot from a gun. It will go in the given direction at a given speed.
Written by: Jayant Narlikar
Summary
Glossary
Textbook Questions and answers
Professor Gaitonde is a historian.
He is going to give a lecture on the implication of the Catastrophe Theory in the Third Battle of Panipat.
On the way, his car collides with a truck and he goes into a coma.
While in coma he experiences a different world where history is different from what we know in the real world.
In the Third Battle of Panipat, in reality, the Afghans defeated the Marathas. Vishwasrao had died.
He was the leader of the Marathas. But in the parallel world, Marathas win the war as Vishwasrao escapes death narrowly.
The Marathas bring about diverse changes andreforms in the country. When Prof. Gaitonde gains his consciousness, his friend 'Rajendra Deshpande rationalizes his strange experience on the basis of two scientific theories, viz. The Catastrophy Theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum Theory.
The Parallel World Professor Gaitonde is on his way to Bombay from Pune.
It is a pre-independent Bombay. He finds Anglo-Indians and the Union Jack. He goes to the library.
There he finds five volumes of History written by him.
The battle of Panipat is described in the fifth volume.
This is the third battle of Panipat fought between Abdali and the Marathas.
The Afghans are defeated. Then on India moved towards democracy.
Here the book wherein he finds the evidence of Vishwasrao's escape from the bullet by a very short margin.
He puts that evidence in his pocket and reaches Azad Maidan where a lecture is going on.
The absence of chairman makes it strange. He tries to occupy that chair.
The crowd does not let the professor to occupy that chair.
They throw him out. He is lost in the crowd.
The professor's experience comes to an end. He tells all this to his friend Rajendra Deshpande.
Rajendra connects this experience of the professor with two scientific theories namely the Catastrophy Theory and the lack of determinism in the Quantum Theory.
In reality the Marathas had lost the battle.
They had lost both their leaders. But in the parallel world the bullet had missed Vishwasrao and the battle was won by the Marathas.
The evidence was in the pocket of Prof. Gaitonde. The reality is that these werethe notes prepared by him for the delivery of the lecture.
This was just his imagination. The hitting of the bullet is the Catastrophic incident.
It is because of the Quantum Theory that a transition is brought about in the theory where Vishwasrao escapes death as the bullet does not find its target.
Here the Professor is in a different world. At the time of collision with truck he was thinking of catastrophic theory.
When the neurons move, there is no specific direction.
Perhaps the neurons in his brain acted as a trigger but the bullet missed its target and Vishwasrao escaped death and thus the battle was won by the Marathas.
The Professor being a physicist applies his knowledge to the real situation and tries to prove the possibility of the battle resulting in favour of the Marathas.
But we cannot do away with the reality that Vishwasrao had been killed in the battle.
The crowd in the maidan turns itself into a mob simply proves that introductory and concluding speeches are not appreciated in modern times
wind up: bring to a finish or end
make way to-to make progress, to move ahead
come together for a common converge purpose
come together for a common converge purpose
from the sidelines - by not getting involved or taking interest
relegated to - assigned something to
meet one's match-to encounter one's equal or superior in ability
de facto - actually, in fact, really
relied on - depended on
doctored accounts-complex/intricate descriptions
subjected to - prone to, liable to
stirred to depths - excited into doing something deeply
give vent to-express an emotion
at hostile-in an unfriendly way
press home one's advantage-make good use of the fact that you are in a stronger position than your opponent
be all ears - be fully attentive in listening (to someone)
face to face - opposite one another
for the sake of- for the purpose
(1) "You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world."
Ans.
This statement was said by Rajendra to Professor Gaitonde. He made a transition from one world to another and back again.
By making a transition, he was able to experience two worlds although one at a time.
He neither travelled tothe past nor to the future.
He was in the present but experiencing a different world
(2) "You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic experience”
Ans.
This statement was made by Rajendra to Prof. Gaitonde in the text "The Adventure' by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. Gangadhar had passed through a strange experience.
He had the experience of living in two world, one he lived in now and other where he had spent two day
(3) Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him
Ans.
Gangadharpant knew India which had seen the decline of Peshwas and experienced the slavery of the British.
But the India he had seen in two days was completely different. It had not been subjected to slavery for the whiteman.
It was self-dependent and enjoyed self-respect.
He compared the two countries the one that he knew already and other that he was witnessing around him. Both had different histories.
(4) "The lack of determinism in quantum theory !"
Ans.
Professor Gaitonde had decided to go to a big library at Bombay and browse through history books.
Then he would find out how the present state of affairs was reached. On his return to Pune, he would have a long talk with Rajendra Deshpande.
He hoped that Rajendra would help him understand what had happened.
(5) "You need some interaction to cause a transition."
Ans.
This Bombay was under the British Raj An Anglo-Indian in uniform checked permits.
Each of the blue carriages of GBMR had the tiny Union jack painted on it.
The Victoria Terminus station looked very neat and clean.
The staff was mostly of Anglo-Indians and Parsee alongwith a handful of British officers.
Ans. Vishwasrao and his brother. Madhavrao a combined political acumen with valour.
They systematically expanded their influence all over India.
The East India Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay. Calcutta and Madras.
Ans.
Prof. Gaitonde saw that the lecture at the pandal was in progress.
But the chair for President on the stage was empty.
He directly went to the stage and occupied the chair.
The audience started shouting to him to vacate the chair'.
Ans.
Gangadharpant had the experience of speaking at 999 meetings, but he found the one at Pune where the audience was at its most hostile.
The audience showered tomatoes, eggs and other objects on him.
Still he kept on trying bravely to correct his sacrilege.
Finally the audience rushed to the stage to eject him boldly and thenafter he was nowhere to be seen.
Ans.
To support the statement Reality may not be unique', the following example of the functioning of atoms and their constituent particles is given.
If an electron is fired from a source, it will never go in the expected direction and reach the set target as it happens in the case of a bullet shot from a gun. It will go in the given direction at a given speed.
