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Spreading Positive Vibrations Issue No 96 – Mar 2015 Published by Prime Point Foundation
Cover Story of the Month
In This Issue:
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Cover Story – ICC World Cup 2015
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Controversy – 66A of IT Act
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Don’t Get raped
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Inspiring Quote from Dr Kalam
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Robots and Robotics
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PRince Cartoon
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Archives – Mar 2009
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Hindi Section
Contact www.corpezine.com editor@corpezine.com
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From the Desk of Editor-in-Chief We are pleased to release the 96th (March 2015) edition of your ezine PreSense. We are happy to introduce a Hindi Section in the ezine, this month. In this edition, we have featured one of the world-class monuments at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. During this month most of our readers would have enjoyed the ICC World Cup. We have brought out some interesting aspects about the World Cup Tournament.
The recent Supreme Court Judgement removing 66A from IT Act has initiated a major controversy, creating apprehension among women. We present an analysis of the judgement for the benefit of our readers. We hope our readers will continue to enjoy this edition too. Please send us your feedback. Please also share this ezine with your contacts for the benefit of others.
PreSense Pays Homage to Lee Kuan Yew, Founder of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015) was Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving prime minister in history. During his long rule, Singapore became one of the most prosperous nations in Southeast Asia. Lee began his venture towards his Dream Singapore in 1965, when Singapore had to break away from the Malaysian Federation and become independent. It was hard work, intelligent observation and learning about what to do and what not to do from other countries’ shortfalls in administration and governance, his nurtured dream and his visionary implementation of a model Singapore, not just for him but for every Singaporean living there. Lee was one of those rare leaders, who, like the infrequent meteor, shot into the lives of the people of a nation and of the world, to leave a precious and indelible impression for all to savour and admire. Farewell, sir. Farewell, Lee Kuan Yew.
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Cover Story ICC World Cup 2015 – Its Evolution The World Cup (WC) Series, which started in 1975, has come a long way to what it was in the 2015 tournament. There was a time when the West Indies and Australia were constant favourites as winners. In the World Cup 2015 Tournament, at the pre-semifinals stage, all the semi-finalists were favourites to lift the Trophy. The other countries too that had participated in the tournament, have come a long way in their professionalism in the sport. Just as in other sports, players were creating new records of sorts more frequently than in the earlier tournaments. For example, the number of players who hit double-digit number of sixers in WC 2015 far exceeded the more modest record of 2 in WC 2011. While some credit is due to the custom-made playing equipment, such as the bat manufactured to give it the tension and curvature to hit far, the players’ mindset and attitude too have played a significant role. Aiming extremely high was not considered beyond them anymore. There was greater aggressiveness in the grit and resolve among the players to achieve the improbable. The introduction of powerplay in 2005 changed the batting strategy in the innings’ play. The preferred strategy during the nascent years of the World Cup Series was cautious playing till the 40th over in order to preserve the wickets, before hitting hard in the death overs. In contrast, the strategy in WC 2015 was aggression in the first 15 overs during the limited overs and the first tranche of power play, followed by a lull before high scoring again in the second tranche of powerplay and death overs. The unconventional shots by batsmen were commonplace in WC 2015 as we saw batsmen playing reverse sweeps and other uncommon strokes to achieve the runs. For the bowler, the consolation was in the introduction of two new balls in the match. In the earlier World Cup tournaments, one ball was used, which was mandatorily changed after 34 overs of an innings. In the ICC World Cup 2015, two new balls, one bowled from each end, were used during an innings. This arrangement helped in retaining the shine of the ball to a certain extent, providing some advantage to fast bowlers. What was especially noteworthy during the latest WC tournament was the use of the broadcasting technology to reach the sport to cricket fans across the country and the world on real-time basis. In India, live telecast of the matches in several regional language channels, complete with commentators conversing in the regional language, helped reach the sport to people beyond the urban and English-knowing belt. Statistics reported that 70% of the fans in India watched/listened to the non-English broadcasting channels. In this
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backdrop, this phenomenal evolution in broadcasting reach is of particular significance. A flaw in the quality of the commentators and the commentaries in the regional broadcasts was however noticed, when they were compared with the professionally experienced English commentators who also contributed from their practical knowledge of the sport as players. The broadcasting technology has also enabled cricket fans to follow the WC matches through their mobile phone and its available network bandwidth. Today, free apps enable mobile phone users to access entire live telecasts. Another significant advancement was the live chat- and twitter-based participation in the live commentary telecasts. Fans and even players, past and playing, texted or tweeted their comments about the matches, either during or after the matches. And all these features were available at a minimal default cost of the network facility. Thus the ICC World Cup 2015 indeed came a long way from its first tournament in 1975 and even the previous one in 2011. The ICC World Cup 2015 reached an all-time new high in technology, records and emotions. By Susan Koshy, Editor (with inputs from Badri Seshadri, Co-Founder, www.cricinfo.com)
ICC WC 2015 Trophy The ICC World Cup 2015 Trophy is a 60-cm tall and 11kg heavy structure of gold and silver. The golden globe that sits on the top is symbolic of the cricket ball. The three silver columns that emerge from it are shaped as stumps and bails. They represent the three fundamental aspects of cricket – batting, bowling and fielding. The names of the previous winners of the trophy are inscribed on the trophy’s base. The original trophy, with the ICC logo inscribed on it, is kept permanently in the International Cricket Council’s office in Dubai. What is presented to the winning team at the event is a replica, except for missing inscription of the previous champions. The ICC logo is replaced by the logo of the tournament. This replica is presented to the winning team for permanent custody. The 2015 Trophy has gone to Australia, who won the final match in a convincing victory. The current trophy was first presented in the World Cup of 1999. The events prior to that were sponsored by corporate houses, and the respective trophies were named after them. These trophies were the Prudential World Cup of 1975, 1979 and 1983 sponsored by Prudential plc, the Reliance World Cup of 1987, sponsored by Reliance Industries, the Benson & Hedges World Cup of 1992, sponsored by Benson & Hedges and the Wills World Cup of 1996, sponsored by Wills (an ITC brand). By Susan Koshy (Resource: www.wikipedia.org)
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Powerplay – A Brief Introduction Powerplay is the name given to fielding restrictions (i.e. restricting the number of fielders in various zones of the cricket field) in a limited-overs match. Fielding restrictions in a cricket match evolved through the 1970s. The most common rule then, was to allow only two fielders outside the circle in the first fifteen overs, and then five fielders for the remaining overs. History Powerplay was introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005. The fielding restrictions were split into three blocks - the mandatory ten overs at the start of the innings, and two more five-over powerplays with the bowling team being able to choose the timing of both. In practice though, both these powerplay overs were generally taken as soon as possible, effectively leading to a single block of 20 overs of fielding restrictions. To counter this, in 2008, the batting team was given the discretion of selecting the timing of one of the two blocks of powerplay. In 2011, ICC brought about changes in the bowling and batting powerplays. Under the new rule, in a 50-over match, neither of the two blocks of powerplay could be taken before the start of the 16th over, and both had to be completed before the commencement of the 41st over. So, overs 11 to 15 and 41 to 50 could not be powerplay overs. In 2012, ICC made further amendments on powerplay, reducing the number of blocks of powerplay from three to two, including the mandatory ten overs at the start of the innings. The bowling powerplay was eliminated. Powerplay, along with other factors, have contributed to the big scores (250+ runs) in modern one-day internationals matches. Fielding Restrictions During the first 10 mandatory overs of a 50-over innings, a maximum of two fielders are allowed to be deployed in the outfield. A minimum of two fielders, other than the bowler and wicket-keeper, have to be deployed in the close infield. The other powerplay is a block of five overs, which is at the discretion of either of the batsmen at the wicket. It is often referred to as the batting powerplay. During batting powerplay overs, only three fielders are allowed in the outfield. During the non-powerplay overs, no more than four fielders will be permitted outside the fielding restriction area. In case the batting team's number of overs is reduced, the number of powerplay overs will be reduced accordingly. This is applicable in both the innings played. By Susan Koshy (Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org; www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup )
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Controversy
Supreme Court Ruling on 66A of IT Act – Freedom of Expression Gained; Protection to Women Lost In 2011, six young ladies in Coimbatore filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell of the Police Department, alleging that they were receiving menacing calls repeatedly from an unidentified number. Investigations traced the call to a single person making similar calls to various other young ladies repeatedly. Although hundreds of ladies were reportedly victims, only a few came forward to complain to the police. The police arrested the person under Sec 66A of IT Act and got him convicted in 2014 to one year of imprisonment. He is in prison now. There are hundreds of such complaints under 66A, pending all over India, in many police stations and courts for punishment of cyber stalkers. In all the cases, the victims are young girls. After the recent Supreme Court judgement scrapping Sec 66A from the IT Act, these cyber stalkers will walk free from jail or the pending case, unpunished for their crime. The entire media and even the young ladies celebrated this judgement of “newfound freedom for the society”, not knowing that it protects the cyber stalkers from arrest for harassing their victims, especially women. Unfortunately, without realising the implications, the electronic media, politicians and youth, including women, have been hailing this as landmark verdict and as a great victory in the freedom of expression.
Freedom of Expression in the Indian Constitution Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian Constitution provides freedom of speech and expression to all citizens. At the same time, Article 19 (2) empowers the State to make any law to impose reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence. This article provides sufficient powers to the Government to enact any law to reasonably restrict the freedom. Referring to this Article in one of the cases, Justice Patanjali of Supreme Court observed on 19th May 1950 that “man as a rational being desires to do many things, but in a civil
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society, his desires will have to be controlled with the exercise of similar desires by other individuals” Background of Section 66A Dr Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister agreed to review the Information Technology Act 2000, after the arrest of the CEO of baazee.com in 2005. In 2008, some clauses of IT Act 2000 were amended to improve its clarity. Section 66A was taken verbatim from Sec 127 of Malicious Communication Act 2003 of United Kingdom. The original IT Act 2000 and the amendments in 2008 were passed without any discussion in the Parliament. “I consider that it is not correct to say that Section 66A was introduced to protect anybody in Congress/UPA as reported in the media. However once the law was available, a senior minister perhaps thought of using it to take control of the social media at different points of time, leading to the last elections. Let’s give neither credit nor discredit the politicians for Section 66A” says Mr Naavi, a Bangalore based Cyber law expert and the author of the first Indian book on Cyber Law. Impact of Removing Sec 66A Some politicians did abuse and misuse Sec 66A for their benefit. The media hyped the issue, attributing the abuse to the prevalence of this section. A large population of the country, who rely on the electronic media for current updates, started believing that this section was 'draconian'. In reality, there are many other clauses in IT Act 2008 and IPC that are draconian and can be misused by the police and the politicians, and the people. “Why blame only the police and the politicians for misuse of 66A? When the police wrongly arrested a person, they were anyway produced before a Magistrate. If the Magistrate had felt that the police had abused Sec 66A, he could have reprimanded the police officer and taken suitable action. Instead, in all the cases, the courts remanded the accused persons or granted bail. That shows the lack of awareness about the clause 66A even in the judicial system. I know that thousands of innocent girls were protected because of 66A. Unfortunately, none of the media houses had taken a serious note of this, as the clause protected only ordinary, poor citizens and not VIPs. I know myself, that every year nearly 2000 complaints are received in the cyber cell of the police at Chennai and Coimbatore. Other states may also receive a large number of complaints. Nearly 50 to 60% of them relate to 'cyber stalking' of women. Instead of removing 66A from the IT Act, the Supreme Court should have advised the Government to frame rules on the lines of UK, and train the police and judicial system on the interpretation of the clause. This judgment has now closed the only available route for women to complain against cyber stalkers”, says S.N. Ravichandran, a member of the Cyber Society of India at Coimbatore. Rules Governing Prosecution in UK When Sec 127 was included in the Malicious Communication Act 2003 in UK, similar arrests occurred in UK. When the matter was taken to the Apex Court, they upheld the clause. In June 2013, the UK Government issued some guidelines on prosecution cases involving messages sent through the social media, and clarified the implication of the Act. The notification can be accessed at http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/communications_sent_via_social_media/ “Some of the words in the various Acts are defined through usage over a period of time and cannot be defined in the Act itself. They all depend on the circumstances under which an action is done and the intention of the person. The main objection in the 66A was the
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undefined words like 'grossly offensive', 'menacing', etc. In the judgment of UK's Apex Court, the judges have treated them as ordinary words in English language and wanted the meaning to be verified from the dictionary. Similarly, this section 66A was not intended to curtail the freedom of speech or expression. It was intended for the communication between two persons or group of persons through digital devices, and not those meant for the public domain. The Supreme Court verdict was based on the presumption that Section 66A was applicable to the publishing of content in the public domain. This presumption was wrong. Since the premise itself was wrong, the verdict deserves to be overturned. The Government and the women activists should move the Supreme Court for review immediately', adds Naavi. Cyber Stalkers vs. Women Victims The entire Indian media seem to be ignorantly misleading the public that women can get protection from cyber stalkers through the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also though Sec 67 of the IT Act. “If a cyber stalker transmits obscene or sexually explicit material to a woman, then he can be booked under Sec 67 and also under IPC. But, if the same person transmits an annoying message like 'I love you' persistently or calls up a woman and disconnects the phone several times, the woman could have filed a complaint and got protection under 66A. After the Instead of rejoicing over recent judgment, she might not get sufficient protection under IT Act and IPC. The only solution the ‘freedom of available to her might be to change her SIM card expression’ gained and her mobile number. Post the Supreme Court through this verdict, one verdict to scrap Sec 66A from the IT Act 2000, should ponder over what thousands of complaints from women victims, would happen if their pending with the police or the courts in such cyber own sisters, mothers stalking cases may not get remedy”, says became victims of ‘cyber Ravichandran.
stalkers’. Will they leave it as a freedom of expression given to the ‘cyber stalker’?
This sudden repeal of Sec 66A has increased the threat to innocent women. All the media houses, political parties and women organisations should start a debate on this issue after understanding the real implication of the repeal, to compel the Government to file a review petition before the full bench. There is an ancient Indian wise saying. “Let us not burn down the house in order to save it from the bugs”. Instead of rejoicing over the ‘freedom of expression’ gained through this verdict, one should ponder over what would happen if their own sisters, mothers became victims of ‘cyber stalkers’. Will they leave it as a freedom of expression given to the ‘cyber stalker’? By K Srinivasan, Editor in Chief
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Between You and Me Don’t Get Raped!!! (This section is for our readers to share their views frankly. Vino Supraja, architect turned media professional turned fashion designer, who recently shifted from Shanghai to US, shares her views on the India media.) This is not a piece of advice I got from my father, or mother or siblings… this was posted on the Facebook wall of my fashion teacher (he is French) by his friend in France, when my teacher went to India on a holiday. Back in 2012, during my university days in Shanghai (China), being one of the very few Indians there, it was heart-wrenching for me to respond to every other countryman, who enquired about the Delhi gang rape. Is India the only country where gang rapes happen? Or are we the only country that unabashedly announces such incidents? That is how the world sees us, Indians. Once known as the land of rich knowledge, history and heritage, India is now labelled, albeit undeservedly, the land of rapists. Would this friend of my teacher in France even be aware of the successful launch of India’s spaceship, Mangalyaan to Mars, and the brilliance of the scientists behind it? I doubt it. Sensation, flash news and high-decibel interviews is the name of the game – no brains attached. The global media is watching what the Indian media writes and talks – or more appropriately – shouts about. All they see is our news anchors, screaming in high pitches with 8 to 10 inset boxes on the TV screen – where only one box is audible. I was surprised that while the American media focused on the strategic importance of Modi’s visit to USA, the Indian media on the contrary, focused on the CCTV scam and Prime Minister, Modi’s suit when Obama visited India. How you project yourself is how you are seen. The media is the window through which the world sees any nation. So it is essential for any media house to be worrying less about its daily TRP, and concentrating on focussing on the BIG AND BALANCED PICTURE. They should be sensitised about what impression it casts about its nation and its people, to the entire world. We need to re-write the practised rules of journalism, re-look at media ethics and re-think about the ‘neutrality’ of the stories by the new-age Indian media. The impact of what the Indian media focuses on these days, is felt more by Indians like me, who live abroad and have to deal with discomforting questions posed by foreigners every day. I am worried about ‘what the world has to say about India’ because of what India says to the world through its media. We as Indians do not hesitate to eat biryani during Ramadan, attend a Christmas mass or celebrate the Diwali festival, irrespective of which religion we belong to. In spite of it, we had to be reminded by US President Obama, all the way from America, that we are a secular state. We indiscreetly sensationalise the report of every petty riot, so that the world believes we are a disintegrated country. Life in India is close to a fairy tale, but it is being portrayed by the Indian media as a horror movie.
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Inspiring Quote from Dr Abdul Kalam Six Virtues a Health Care Giver Must Possess Friends, I would like to share an experience of mine with Choakyi Nyima Rinpoche, the Chief Monk in Kathmandu and a medical researcher. After nearly a kilometre of walk, I reached the white Kumbha where the chief Monk and his disciples were waiting to receive me. After the reception, the Chief Monk said, “let us go to our study room�, and I followed him. He climbed the first floor, the second floor, the third floor, the fourth floor and the fifth floor, like a young boy. Probably the life style has a positive impact on the mind and body. All along I was following and following. When I reached his chamber, I saw a laboratory and a spiritual environment, overlooking the Himalayas. What surprised me was that his research students came from different parts of the world. He introduced me in particular to his co-author, David R Shlim, MD who is working on the research area, Medicine and Compassion. The Chief Monk, Choakyi Nyima Rinpoche and I exchanged a few books. The Monk has written a book with Dr. David R. Shlim titled "Medicine and Compassion". I liked this book and I read it during my journey from Kathmandu to Delhi. This book gives six important virtues which a medical practitioner should possess towards their patients. The first virtue is generosity; the second virtue is pure ethics; the third is tolerance, the fourth is perseverance, the fifth is cultivating pure concentration and the sixth virtue is intelligence. These virtues will empower the care givers with a humane heart. I am sure, doctors, nurses and para-medical staff will continue to acquire human virtue that will reinforce confidence in the healthcare system. Source: www.abdulkalam.com
The past editions of ezine may be downloaded from www.corpezinecom
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Technology Corner
Getting to Know About the Global Robotics Market This article is intended to give an insight to the global robotics market and share about the subject of Robotics that goes beyond the Tamil movie Enthiran, and the football games that many of us watch. According to a report from IFR (International Federation of Robotics), with increasing demand for industrial automation and ‘intelligentisation’, the global industrial robot industry has been flourishing, hitting a record high in 2013, with annual sales and ownership reaching 178,000 units and 1.332 million units, up by 12.0% and 7.9% year on year, respectively. Between 2010 and 2013, the annual increase in global robot sales was about 12% on an average, despite the critical economic situation in some of the key countries. Robot sales to Americans continued to increase due to the need for automation processes in the industries in North America. Robot sales to Asia too rose considerably due to high demand from China, South Korea and the other growing Asian markets. The major factor contributing to the continuous growth in the use of robotics is its never-ending technological development in relation to market and industrial requirements, accounting for product quality and competitiveness, as well as safe processes. The robotics industry does not limit its services to just the automotive sector. The deployment of robots in the non-automotive sector is also on the rise. The highest gain in the non-automotive markets is in life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical (+142%), food & consumer goods (+61%) and plastics & rubber (+36%) sectors. Orders from non-automotive markets are up 22%, which is a very positive sign for the robotics industry, moving forward. The global industrial robot capacities are concentrated in Japan, accounting for 60% of the global total. The sales market is mainly in Japan, the U.S., Germany, South Korea and China, holding a combined share of 70.2% as of 2013. In China, the industrial robot industry sprouted in 2003, accelerated by 2010, and overtook Japan as the world's largest consumer market in 2013 for the first time. According to the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA) statistics, the industrial robot sales volume in China in 2013 was 36,560 units, or 1/5 of the global total, and is expected to reach 45,000 units in 2014 and around 100,000 units in 2017. China's industrial robot density (the number of robots used by every 10,000 workers) is much lower than that in the developed countries, standing at only 30 in 2013, well below the global average of 62, in stark contrast to 437 in South Korea, 323 in Japan and 282 in Germany around the same time.
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Continued Growth between 2015 to 2017 Between 2015 and 2017, the robot sales are estimated to increase by about 6% in America as well as in Europe, and about 16% in Asia/Australia on an average per year. Breathtaking advancements and innovative technological developments in industrial manufacturing have caused a substantial increase in the number of robot installations during the past four years, especially in the automotive industry. Where is India in this Global Market? The global market for industrial robotics projects are projected to be close to 143,000 units by 2015 due to expanding application possibilities, technology developments, rising value propositions, demographic shifts, and ensuing labour shortages. Although this global trend toward adoption of robotic automation is also increasing in India, it is still in the early stages. Automation still in its infancy in several sectors, is a reflection of a low valueaddition zone. India is required to leapfrog to higher value addition in the manufacturing processes. The real drive for automation started only in 1997, and India is lagging behind, in comparison to the world growth in the automation sector. The lack of skilled workforce is one of the major challenges faced by most of the industries in the country. The workforce is usually underutilised in their capacities, as lower-level jobs are assigned, restricting the growth of the employee and employer. The automotive sector has been the driving force for automation, but the focus has now shifted to sectors like food, packaging, pharma and education too. By 2015, the global robotics industry is estimated to be worth $17.6 billion with the Indian robotics industry worth approximately $750 million, and is expected to double over the next 3-4 years. By Sukruti Vadula, Editorial Advisor
Congratulations to Badminton Superstar, Saina Nehwal – The First Indian Woman to Be Ranked World No. 1
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From the Archives of E-zine PreSense – March 2009 Media Analysis of Performance Motivates MPs (Editorial by Guest Editor - S K Kharvendan, MP) It is a great honour for me to be the Guest Editor of March 09 issue of PR-e-Sense, which carries the exclusive lead story of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and many eminent personalities. After India’s independence, the Constitution of India came into force on 26th Jan 1950. The first general elections for the first Lok Sabha was held between October 1951 and April 1952. In a few weeks, India will be electing her 15th Lok Sabha. In the past 60 years, people have been debating about the role of Members of Parliament, whether it is a decorative position or an opportunity to serve the people. Now, media has started analysing the performance of the Members of 14th Lok Sabha on various parameters. It is a very good precedence and a highly welcome change. People should direct every Member of Parliament who represents nearly 15 lakh people, as to what he has to do to perform. For the first time in the Parliament history, Hon’ble Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee introduced ‘live TV relay’ of the proceedings of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This has enabled the public to watch the performance of their representatives, whether they attend the sessions, whether they raise the problems of their constituency and state, etc. If the people utilise this facility fully, MPs will take care of their roles better with the fear that the voters may reject them for non-performance. Both the ruling party members and the opposition members have greater roles to play in the Parliament. The opposition members should point out the inactions and failures of various welfare projects initiated by the ruling party and also the unnecessary actions, which are not required to be done. The ruling party members can sharpen the actions of the Government, by raising questions and participating in debates, pointing out delays in project implementations. This will drive the Government to speed up the welfare projects and reduce delays and curtail corruption. Indirectly, they will drive the Government to get a good name from the people. The new members of the 15th Lok Sabha, who will be elected shortly, should collect various information and happenings through the media and television and collate them to present in the Lok Sabha. They should consider this as their fundamental duty. They should also learn the Parliament procedures within six months. Now, because of initiatives taken by friends like Prime Point Srinivasan, awareness has dawned among the Members of Parliament. Many of them have started regretting that they have missed out on asking questions, attending sessions, etc. The great job done by the media by analysing the performance of the Members of the 14th Lok Sabha, will work as a ‘warning’ for the new members and will also motivate them to perform better. Definitely, this will generate a healthy competition among the new members to show better performance. I take this opportunity to greet the to-be-elected Members of 15th Lok Sabha, who will guide the Government to take the nation forward. Source: http://www.primepointfoundation.org/presense/presense0309.pdf
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Hindi Section
स्थापत्य कला का चमत्कार है तंजावूर का मंदिर
कहा जाता है दक यदि आपने एक मंजजला घर बनाना हो तो आपको हाथ भर गहरी नंव खोिनी होती है परं तु यदि आप कोई बहुमंजजला इमारत बनाना चाहते हं तो नंव भी उसी अनुपात मं गहरी होनी चाजहए। लेदकन क्या आपको यह जानकर आश्चयय नहं होगा दक तजमलनाडु के तंजावूर के जवशाल जशव मंदिर के कं द्रीय जवमान की इमारत भू-स्तर से 216 फु ट ऊँची है और इसकी 13 परतं वाली बनावट भी अपने आप मं एक चमत्कार है। लगभग 43,000 टन वज़नी इस जवमान का वगायकार आधार 96 फु ट चौड़ा है। नीचे से गोलाकार आधार वाली जवमान की यह इमारत ऊपर उठते हुए नुकीली होती जाती है जजसे अंगरे ज़ी मं ‘कोजनकल स्रक्चर’ कहा जाता है, और इसका जशकारा ही 81 टन से भी ज़्यािा वज़नी है। इस जशकारे को अपनी वतयमान जस्थजत पर लाने के जलए सरपलम्म नामक गांव से सात दकलोमीटर लंबी रं प का जनमायण करना पड़ा था। इससे भी बड़ी बात यह है दक इस मंदिर के जवशाल कं द्रीय जवमान की इमारत मात्र सात फु ट गहरी नंव पर खड़ी है और 6 बड़े भूकंपं के बावजूि एक हज़ार वर्य पुरानी इस इमारत को कोई उल्लेखनीय नुकसान नहं हुआ है। यह जवशाल और अद्भुत मंदिर प्राचीन भारतीय स्थापत्य कला (आर्ककटेक्चर), अजभयांजत्रकी (इं जीजनयरिरग) और खगोल जवज्ञान (एस्रोनॉमी) के समृद्ध ज्ञान के चमत्कार का जीता-जागता प्रमाण है जजसे युनेस्को ने जवश्व स्तरीय जवरासत का स्मारक घोजर्त दकया है और आज भी जवश्व भर से जसजवल इं जीजनयरिरग के जवद्याथी और अध्यापक स्थापत्य कला का ज्ञान बढ़ाने की मंशा से इसे िेखने तंजावूर आते हं।
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मंदिर जनमायण का इजतहास इस अद्भुत और जवशाल मंदिर का जनमायण चोल वंश के सम्राट राज-राज (प्रथम) ने करवाया। इसके जनमायण मं सात वर्य से भी कम का समय लगा और यह मंदिर सन् 1010 ईस्वी मं बनकर तैयार हुआ। समय का उल्लेख इसजलए आवश्यक है दक पुरातन काल मं जब भारी पत्थर आदि ढोने के आधुजनक साधन नहं थे तब भी इतने भारी पत्थरं को मंदिर स्थल तक लाना ही स्वयं मं एक बड़ा अजभयान रहा होगा। मंदिर मं 1,30,000 टन के लगभग ग्रेनाइट पत्थर का उपयोग हुआ और इसके कं द्रीय जवमान की के वल 7 फु ट गहरी नंव इस तरह बनी है दक जवमान का सारा बोझ इसकी नंव पर सब तरफ बराबर-बराबर फै ला हुआ है। यह पूरी इमारत ग्रेनाइट चट्टानं से बनी है और यह खरल (मोटायर) की महीन परत से ढकी हुई है तादक इस पर गढ़ी गई मूर्ततयां सिैव जस-की-तस रहं। यह जवमान गीज़ा के जपराजमडं की ही तरह अंिर से खोखला है और पत्थरं से बना है जजन्हहं आपस मं इं टरलॉकिकग जवजध से इस तरह से जोड़ा गया है दक जोड़ पर दकसी मसाले की आवश्यकता न पड़े। मंदिर के प्रवेश द्वार के पास जशवजी के बैल नंिी की एक जवशाल मूर्तत है जो एक ही चट्टान से जनर्तमत है। यह मूर्तत 16 फु ट लंबी और 13 फु ट ऊंची है। मंदिर की िीवारं और छत पर चोल परं परा की जचत्रकला के अंश अब भी दिखते हं क्यंदक चोल युग की समाजि पर अन्हय राजाओं ने भी इस पर अपनी परं परा के जचत्र बनवा डाले। ये सभी जचत्र मूल खजनज रं गं (जमनरल कलसय) से बने हुए हं और 1000 साल बीत जाने पर भी ज्ययं के त्यं हं। ऊपरी राहिारी के तहखाने की िीवारं पर नतयकं की 108 छोटी मूर्ततयां उके री गई हं। मंदिर मं 'रे न वॉटर हावेस्टस्टग’ तकनीक का उपयोग दकया गया है और बाररश के मौसम का पूरा पानी तथा अजभर्ेक के समय प्रयुक्त हुआ पानी साथ सटे जशवगंगा तालाब मं चला जाता है। इस मंदिर के मुख्य वास्तुकार (आर्ककटेक्ट) कुं जर मल पेरुम तचन थे जजन्हहं सम्राट राज-राज (प्रथम) ने खुश होकर 'वीर चोलन’ एवं 'राज-राज पेरुम तचन’ (The greatest Architect) की उपाजध से जवभूजर्त दकया जो उस समय का सवोच्च सम्मान था। यह खेि एवं आश्चयय का जवर्य है दक युनेस्को की मान्हयता के बावजूि प्राचीन भारतीय कला, वास्तु एवं अजभयांजत्रकी की इस अनूठी जमसाल के प्रचार के जलए भारत सरकार ने कु छ भी जवशेर् नहं दकया है। हम के वल आशा ही कर सकते हं दक वतयमान सरकार इस दिशा मं कोई ठोस किम उठायेगी। *** By P K Khurana, Chandigarh
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Presenters of PreSense Editorial Team
K. Srinivasan Editor in Chief
Susan Koshy Editor
V. Rajendran
Triambak Sharma
Editorial Advisors
V. Ponraj
Dr. Prof R. Jagannathan
T N Ashok
Sukruti A Vadula
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